The Guardian's Tale
by Knightcrawler
Summary: It is known from Finding Nemo that Gill came from the ocean originally, however, little is revealed in the film about how he came to be living in captivity, or about how he became the fish that eventually befriended and mentored Nemo. This story, which is set initially several years before the film, is the tale of how he became that tough, scarred fish...
1. Chapter 1

The Guardian's Tale

 _Prologue - The Approaching Darkness_

The ocean stretched out before them, a seemingly endless underwater paradise of numerous shapes and colours, which could be seen reaching out into almost infinity in all directions, save for the strange, yet tantalising, world above the ocean. The sunlight from the world above played on the clear blue of the waters, but that world above the ocean's surface was an alien, and forbidden, territory to the fish that swam below. Some of the fish found the very idea of that strange world above - with all of its dangers and mysteries - an exciting temptation, a place that they longed to explore, as much because it was forbidden as because of its silent, enticing call to adventure. Gill, however, could not understand what its attraction was for his siblings, as they swam ever closer to the surface world, and the many and various dangers and wonders that awaited there. For Gill, the world below the ocean was enough, with its bright colours and steady rhythms, a world as beautiful as it was terrible, for the ocean itself was not without numerous dangers, and could be as harsh and unforgiving as the tentatively close, yet still distant, world above the waters.

Many of Gill's siblings had fatally found out about these dangers for themselves, for it was rare, indeed, that all of a fish's siblings would make it from hatchling to fully grown. But Gill was now a youth who had managed to reach adulthood, and therefore knew that, in the not too distant future, he would have to move away from his family home, to make a life for himself elsewhere in the ocean, perhaps find a mate and have young of his own, as was the way of the ocean. Yet, for the moment, he was content to act as nothing more than guard for his siblings, as they examined various rocks and outcroppings, interestingly shaped plants and corals, caves and crevasses, to see if any of these would make a suitable home for a moorish idol youth looking to find a place to set up home, a place where they could settle, raise a family, and live in peace, away from predators or the many other dangers hidden within the depths of the ocean.

That was the main reason why Gill had been asked to accompany them. He was a natural fighter, tougher than most of his kind, and with a level of guile and cunning unusual in one so young. It was generally agreed that, if there was a predator nearby, then Gill would have the best chance of all of them of being able to fight it, or of being able to trick the predator into leaving them alone.

Gill looked around at the beauty of the ocean. The water was as clear as morning, there were no signs of any predators anywhere close by, and so he wondered, briefly, if a guard was really necessary, as he watched his brothers and sisters examine nearby rocks. Of course, although it might look peaceful now, the best, the most effective predators were those that could hide easily, blend in with the ocean floor or an outcropping of rocks, so that they could not be observed until it was too late. So Gill knew that it was important that he was able to stay alert, keeping watch for a tiny flickering of movement, the glint of an eye or odd shape within the rocks, or some other small but vital clue, which would provide the necessary warning to the idols that now was the time to leave, before the predator had a chance to strike.

He watched from a distance as a few of his siblings made their way further towards the surface of the ocean. He could understand their curiosity about the strange world above, but hoped that they would quickly tire of their interest in that world. Fish belonged in the ocean, they were adapted for swimming, and besides, the ocean was huge, with enough to keep any fish amused throughout its life, without having to worry about a world where, it was as clear as sunlight, they did not belong.

Gill narrowed his eyes as he saw something which, he was sure, did not belong in the ocean, although he had no idea of what it was. It appeared to be some kind of thick black liquid, which seemed to be expanding rapidly from the world above the ocean. Gill called out to his siblings to swim down, to get away from the black ooze, to get as far away from the strange, dark liquid as they could. But they clearly could not hear him, so Gill swam up towards the surface of the ocean. There was a shadow blotting out the sunlight on a small area of the water, and, on closer inspection, Gill was sure that the shadow was caused by a boat. He had never seen a boat before, but his parents had told him about boats: these were human inventions, made out of metal and wood, and used in order to go out into the ocean to catch fish so that they could gut and eat them. Needless to say, Gill had always wanted to avoid boats after having heard this tale.

And never more so than now. But he could see his siblings, trapped within the black, thick liquid, trying to free themselves from its vicious grip. Gill could not leave them, so swam up onto the surface of the water. By that time, the boat was little more than a dark shape vanishing over the horizon, leaving a huge trail of black, thick liquid behind it. Gill felt the liquid cling to his fins, making swimming difficult. It was also starting to get inside his throat now, too, and beginning to make his breathing difficult and laboured. He did not pretend to understand what was happening, as he made his way, painfully slowly, towards the closest of his siblings.

It was too late. Whatever the black, evil liquid was, it had killed his sister, immobilised her, perhaps had been responsible for suffocating her to death. There was nothing he could do to help her now. Even worse, he did not know how to fight this strange liquid, for it was not a predator like any he had ever come across before. It did not seem to have any obvious weaknesses that Gill could exploit, did not seem to have any sort of intelligence or consciousness, did not seem to realise what it was doing. Gill could feel it getting inside his own body, and found that he was panicking and feeling helpless, as he looked around himself at where the black liquid was rapidly dispersing, killing everything that it touched, as indiscriminate as a thunderstorm, and much more deadly. He saw several of his siblings nearby, dead or dying, due to this evil black liquid. I'll be joining you soon, he thought to himself, for how can I hope to fight an enemy like this?

There was another boat, coming up fast, too fast for Gill to be able to swim away from it, since he was now covered in the strange, black liquid. He could only stare at the boat as it came closer, for he was no longer able to move much, due to being trapped by the evil ooze. The boat came to a stop very close to Gill, and a couple of humans looked down at the thick, black liquid. One of them shook his head sadly as he looked down at where this black liquid was expanding out into the ocean, "Blimey," he said to his companion, "that guy on the radio said it was bad, but I didn't think it was going to be _this_ bad."

"All those dead fish," the other human said, "such a shame."

"Yeah, not sure that there's much we can do for them now, though," the first human replied.

"Wait a minute," the other human pointed at where Gill was still futilely trying to extract himself from the thick black liquid, "there's a live one there."

The boat inched closer to Gill, who tried to get as far away from it as possible. He might as well have tried swimming to the sun, for he was so covered in the black liquid now that he could barely move a fin, let alone swim away. One of the humans reached down and picked him up, not ungently, and examined him critically, while Gill suddenly found himself desperately gasping for air.

"We might still have a chance with this one, if we're careful," the human holding him said to his companion.

"It's going to take a lot of work," the other human replied, "but if we get it back to the lab we should have a chance."

With that, Gill was placed in a small, dark box, which at least was full of clear, clean water, and then was spirited away from his home in the ocean, heading towards an unknown fate.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 1 – William_

 **Author's Notes – Hi** _ **DoryFan2002**_ **, glad you like the last chapter. If you like this story, you might also like** _ **Finding Home**_ **,** __ **if you have not already read it. Now on with the story.**

It was humiliating. Gill found himself being unceremoniously lifted out of the box by human hands, placed in some strange white object, and covered with water once more. Then these human hands started to scrub at his scales. At first, Gill tried to swim away from these hands, afraid of what they were going to do him. But, after a while, it became obvious that these hands were trying to remove the black liquid from his body, although their reasons for doing so were not immediately apparent. Perhaps, Gill thought to himself, they have to clean me up first, before they can gut and eat me. Well, even if that _were_ the case, he could not deny that it was pleasant to feel the thick, black liquid gradually being removed from his scales.

The water he was in was become black itself, clearly due to the black substance that was slowly being removed from his own body. Then the human reached down, lifted a small, round object up, and then the filthy water started to drain away. Gill looked up at the human who was patiently moving his fingers and thumbs over Gill's body, clearly still trying to remove as much of the gunk as possible. The human smiled down at Gill in a manner that was not unfriendly, and gave him a wink, "This here is a sink," he told him absently, "good place to get you cleaned up, if I do say so myself. And that there is a drain," he pointed to where the water was disappearing, and Gill stared down at the water swirling down the hole. "All drains lead back to the ocean, sooner or later, although they might lead to rivers and streams first. Don't worry about that mess getting into your home though," he added, "it's going to go through the treatment system first. By the time it reaches the sea, it will be as clear and as pure as a bright new dawn."

Gill turned his attention from the drain back to the human, who had fiddled with some metal object just above the sink, and now more water was flowing over Gill. It was pleasant, to feel clean once more, but it was still humiliating, being manhandled by the human. Still, this human did not seem to be intentionally cruel, and, for whatever reason, seemed to want to clean Gill in a gentle and effective manner. The human reached up and picked up an object, which he then used to brush Gill all over. Gill sighed quietly to himself. It was clear that there was not much point in worrying about what was going to happen next. The human wanted him clean, and for the moment, at least, being cleaned by the human was not unpleasant. Besides, there did not seem to be an easy way to escape from the human, as the drain was much too small for him to be able to fit through. So Gill decided that he might as well relax, just for the moment at least, and let this human finish making him clean.

More water poured over him, and his body was carefully scrubbed, until finally it was clean from the thick black liquid. Okay, Gill thought, looking up at the human warily, so you wanted to get me clean, and now I am clean. So what happens now?

The human picked him up carefully, looking down at him in a friendly way, "You know, you are lucky to be alive," he told Gill, "shame we weren't able to get to those others in time. Still, right now, I'll give you a place to stay where you can recover fully." With that, the human released him into some kind of clear, rectangular box, filled with water.

It felt pleasant to be in salt water once more, even if it was in some box. For a few minutes, Gill just enjoyed the feeling of being clean and able to swim freely once again. But then his natural wariness told him to explore his surroundings, to find out if there were any dangers that he should be prepared to deal with, any enemies that he would need to fight. He swam from one side of the box to the other, and back again. This did not take long. The box was tiny and cramped, when compared to the expansive wonders of the vast open ocean that was his home. There were a number of green thin things sticking out of the base of the box, parodies of the plants back in the ocean, and bits of shells and pebbles at the base of the box, but otherwise it appeared to be empty1. There did not appear to be any immediate danger present, yet Gill nevertheless felt himself start to panic at being in such a confined space; the box seemed to be incredibly claustrophobic after the huge expanse of the open ocean.

He just had to get out of the box.

He thrust himself against the clear side of the box. It hurt his snout slightly, but Gill ignored it. He tried again, and again and again. This was starting to make him feel dizzy, but seemed to be having no effect whatsoever upon the box. Gill glared at it for a moment, then thrust himself forward against it as hard as he could. Still there was not so much as dent in the box. He thrust himself against its side, once more, then did the same again, and again and again…

He heard a low chuckling from behind him. He turned around, and what he had initially thought to be just another clump of pretend plants, turned out to be an octopus. The creature had clearly been disguising itself up until that point, and was now watching him, wearing an amused grin, "Oh, don't stop doing that on my account," he said loftily, "I was just wondering to myself how long it would be until you knocked yourself out doing that."

Gill stared at him. The octopus was a pinkish-red colour, and seemed to be totally relaxed inside this clear box. He seemed to be genuinely amused at Gill's antics, and not threatening at all. Gill sighed, "What is this place?" he asked.

"Big question, not very specific," the octopus replied, "start big, get small: The Universe, The Milky Way, Planet Earth, The Southern Hemisphere, Australia, Sydney, New South Wales Road, Number 38, the home of Mr. Elias, the living room of said home, an aquarium inside the living room of said home."

Gill stared at him for a moment longer, and then looked around himself, at the clear box that they were residing in, indicating his surroundings with his left fin, "This is called an aquarium?" he asked.

"Yep," the octopus replied, "also called a fish tank. It's a place where humans keep aquatic creatures."

"Why?" Gill asked.

The octopus leaned back against the clear walls of the aquarium, "Another big question," he replied, "there's a whole load of humans all over the world, and some of them just like to keep aquatic creatures in aquaria. They like looking at them," he explained, "of course, some, those of a more practical frame of mind, like to keep them in these aquaria because they want to keep them fresh so that they can eat them later, when they are feeling hungry."

Gill looked down, suddenly feeling a huge amount of rage growing inside of himself. He had not understood even half of what had happened to him recently, but the memory of his brothers and sisters, going belly up, covered in that strange, evil black liquid, and then Gill himself being spirited away from his home, only to be placed inside this clear box, just to be saved, only to become some human's lunch later on, was all just too much. He went back to thrusting himself against the walls of this strange, clear prison once more, desperate to escape from his confinement. "I have to get out of here!" he yelled, "I won't spend the rest of my life just waiting for someone to gut me and eat me!"

The octopus watched him in silence for a while. "In my experience," he said airily, "it always helps to sit back for a while, assess the situation, look, listen, learn, rather than rushing in and bashing your head against an aquarium wall.

"Oh, you're a lot of help," Gill snarled sarcastically, before going back to thrusting himself against the wall of the aquarium again.

The octopus watched him in silence for a while longer, then sighed quietly to himself. "You won't even make a dent," he said eventually, slithering and sliding towards where Gill was glaring out of the clear wall of their enclosure.

"I'd rather die trying than futilely just waiting!" Gill replied, thrusting himself against the side of the aquarium once more.

"Better not to die at all, if you ask me," the octopus placed a tentacle on top of Gill, turning him gently around so that Gill could see into the octopus' green eyes. "Look," said the octopus with a sigh, "even if you could somehow get out of this box, what would you do next, huh? You might be able to survive maybe two minutes out of water," he gave a wry smile, "maybe closer to three, given your type," he added.

"And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?" Gill demanded.

"You're a moorish idol, right?" the octopus asked, "a species infamous for doing very poorly in captivity. Never met one of your kind that didn't have a touch of darkness in him. And, if I'm not very much mistaken, you're not the sort to give up without a fight. Won't make any difference in the long run, though. Fish can't live long outside of water, no matter how determined they are."

"Well, you could try doing something other than just talking," Gill snapped back, "you might be content to just wait here for death, but I'm certainly not."

"Look, kid, no one here is going to harm you, no one is interested in killing you," the octopus told him, "humans don't generally eat brightly coloured fish, that's the whole point of their bright colours, see? A warning that they are not good to eat."

"Then why?" Gill asked, "Why did they have to do all of this? Why the black, killing liquid?"

"Oil, probably," said the octopus, "seems to me that there was an oil spill, and that's what caused all of this trouble. Humans are always fighting over that stuff, always fighting over who has oil."

That at least I can understand," Gill replied, "so they fight with each other so that they don't have to be near that stuff?"

"Unfortunately, no," the octopus said, "they fight with each other because they want to keep the oil for themselves."

"Why?" Gill asked, "That stuff doesn't seem to be good for anything."

The octopus sighed once more, "They burn it," he explained, "that's how they power all of their homes and their machines, by burning oil."

"Burning?" Gill asked.

"Set fire to it," the octopus explained, "get energy from it that way, by burning it, which incidentally releases smoke into the atmosphere, which they then have to breathe in."

"Doesn't that affect their gills?" Gill asked.

"Nope. Mostly because they don't have gills. They have lungs, like whales and dolphins. And yes, burning oil, which releases all sorts of nastiness into the air that they then have to breathe, does have a negative effect on their breathing, but most of them are too short-sighted in their approach to their lives to be able to think very much about that sort of thing."

"They ruin everything that they touch," Gill said, "The air, the land, the ocean. And for what? Just so that they can slowly kill themselves! They're crazy. No, worse than crazy, a parasite upon this world! He could feel that sense of rage rising within him again, and a strange, vicious desire for revenge against those that had killed his family and destroyed his home. "It's all their fault," he said, his voice quiet with tranquil fury, "humans. Why do they have to go and ruin everything all the time? It was one of their boats that spilled that evil black oil that killed my brothers and sisters, and not being content with that, they've taken me prisoner, just for their amusement. I hate them! I hate them all! I'll kill them all! Just as soon as I can figure out how to get out of this stupid aquarium!"

"Whoa, lad, that's a lot of hate you got there," the octopus reached out towards Gill again, using a couple of his tentacles to hold him fast, as he stared directly at him in a manner that was quite unnerving, "it's not good for you, that's for sure. Can't say I entirely blame you for feeling like that just now, but think, just for moment, how exactly do you intend to kill all humans?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," Gill growled back, "but I'll find a way."

"And then what?" the octopus demanded.

"What?" Gill asked.

"So you find a way to kill all humans – never mind that there's millions, billions of them, all over the planet, and you can't even get out of this box - you somehow find a way to kill them all. Then what? Do you think that will make you feel any better? Do you think that that will take away the pain you're feeling right now at the death of your brothers and sisters? Do you really think that that is the answer?"

Gill turned away from him, forcing himself clear of his unresisting tentacles, and swam to the other side of the aquarium. He stared out of the box, and saw a human approaching a brightly coloured bird in a small, golden cage. He turned away from the human, and focused his attention back on the octopus once more, all rage suddenly spent, feeling just a sense of hollow emptiness, a dark, despairing nothing at what had happened, and a sense of hopelessness, due to the fact that there appeared to be nothing that he could do to change the situation, to make it better.

The octopus watched him in silence for a few more minutes, before pointing to himself with one of his tentacles. "Name's William," he said, watching Gill carefully, "and I've seen your kind before."

"Yeah, you know about moorish idols, you said," Gill replied sullenly, slumping to the floor of the aquarium and staring up at William the octopus with tired, sad eyes, "that we don't do so well in captivity. Well, you got that right enough, I guess."

"That wasn't what I meant," William replied, "you're a natural protector, defender, one who's not afraid to fight to defend those that can't defend themselves. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it isn't, not at all. But it can go bad, can go bad so easily. When one like you fails to defend, to protect…" his voice trailed off, "well, it can lead to a lot of sadness, a lot of anger, a lot of pain. And when that pain's turned outwards to the world, when not tempered with compassion…" he sighed, "let's just say I wouldn't like to see what you would become if that were to happen."

Gill watched him for a moment, unsure of what to do. William seemed to be lost in an unpleasant memory. "Has that got something to do with the black stuff I was covered in?" he asked. Maybe that was what it was: hate and anger turned into some thick, black liquid, a monster with no wants, no desires except to destroy everything in its path, because it believed, incorrectly, that that would somehow be able to take away its own pain.

"No, this had nothing to do with oil, and it was a long time ago, and it isn't important right now. That is what is important," he pointed with a tentacle towards the human, who seemed to be feeding the colourful bird, "see that human?" he asked.

"I can see perfectly," Gill replied.

"Perhaps, but can you also observe?" William asked.

Gill sighed, "I'm in no mood for riddles," he said.

"Fine, good, crisp, clear talking, that sounds good to me. Right, well that human's called Sammy, right, and he and his friend Alexander went out into the ocean and saved you from that oil."

"Only after they got me caught in that stuff in the first place!" Gill shot back.

"Oh, for goodness sake, learn to think before you open your mouth!" William replied angrily, "I already told you, there's billions of humans in the world, and it wasn't Sammy or Alexander who were responsible for killing your family and ruining your home and your life, but some other humans who did that, and then they left it there for Sammy and Alexander to clear up. That's what they do, understand? Some humans ruin the world, and others have devoted their lives to trying to clean up the mess left by the others. These are the good guys, do you understand me? They rescued you! They saved you! The least you could do is show a little bit of gratitude!"

Gill was silent for a moment, watching as William got his breath back after his rant. Gill stared at the human, Sammy, for a while, as the human examined the bird's wing. "Okay," Gill said, trying to stay as calm as he could, "so they're friends, and they're trying to help us. But if they had got to the area sooner, they might have been able to save my brothers and sisters from their fate."

"Yeah, okay, I'll give you that one," William said reluctantly, "but there's a lot of difference between failing to reach a place in time to save everyone, when compared to being the cause of the disaster which killed those that you cared for, understand?"

"Yes, I understand," Gill replied quietly, watching the human pick up the bird, ever so gently, in his hands, "So what is it that they do want?" Gill asked, "Why have they put me in this aquarium anyway?"

"'Cause you got covered in oil," William replied, "'cause they can't release you just yet, not 'til they're sure that you're well enough to go back to the ocean. Besides, they want to find out what caused the oil spill, I bet, clean up the place, and make sure that that sort of thing doesn't happen again in the future. They want to make sure that it's safe for you to go back to a nice, clean and safe home before they release you back into the ocean, otherwise they'll have saved you only to doom you later, and no one wants that, do you understand?"

Gill watched as the human went over to a window, and carefully opened it, making sure, the whole time, that the little bird in his other hand was not being harmed. Sammy the human then winked at the little bird, "Okay, my feathered friend, time to fly away home," he said, releasing the bird, which flew into the clear blue sky.

Gill watched the bird until it had vanished into the distance, and smiled quietly to himself, before turning his thoughtful gaze back to William, "Yes," he said, "I think I finally do understand."

1 Actually, it appeared to be full of water, but literary convention tends to prevent such a literal use of language when describing that which is nearly always present, in much the same way that 'empty' rooms are nevertheless assumed to be full of air.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 2 – Mr. Elias_

 **Author's Note - Hi again,** _ **DoryFan2002**_ **, glad you like the chapter. Unfortunately, I don't think that Dory will be involved in this story, mostly because this is happening at about the same time as the cuteness of baby Dory, but is happening many miles away from her, in and around Sydney, Australia. As for William and Gill becoming friends, they're certainly heading in that direction, as this chapter will hopefully demonstrate. Now on with the story. Enjoy!**

Gill settled himself down at the base of the aquarium, and decided that there was little else that he could do, right now, besides wait. The humans had saved him, and actively wanted him to go back to his ocean home, although not before he had fully recovered. So the best thing to do, he decided, was simply to relax and be as patient as possible, so that he could aid the healing processes along. He sighed as William watched him from the other side of the tank. Gill had never been the most patient of fish at the best of times, but there seemed to be little choice but to wait until he was completely healed.

Gill's attention was diverted away from William when the door to the living room was opened, and a very old human stepped through this door. He was accompanied by a very energetic black spaniel with a white patch over its right ear. The elderly man patted the dog absently, looked around himself briefly, then smiled as he saw Sammy. "I hear you had a productive trip with young Alex," he said, detaching the lead from the dog's collar. The spaniel then bounced over to the aquarium that currently housed Gill and William, and, to Gill's surprise, licked it.

"Hello," the spaniel said, bouncing on his hind legs, "hello pretty little fishy! We haven't met before, but I love you! Hello William the squishy octopus. I love you too!"

Gill gave William a sideways look. William sighed, "This bundle of energy is called Patch," he explained, "and that human," he pointed up at the old man with one of his tentacles, "is Mr. Elias. He has just been taking Patch for a walk. Mr. Elias is Sammy's grandfather."

Gill turned his attention from William back to Patch, "Um, hello Patch," he said uncertainly, "it's nice to meet you."

"Little fishy thinks it's nice to meet me!" the dog jumped up and down and then started to chase his tail in excitement, "little fishy liked me! I love the new little fishy!"

"Are all land animals like this?" Gill whispered to William.

William chuckled to himself, "It's a dog thing," he explained, "hard to believe that this little creature is basically a wolf. Some humans like to keep dogs as pets."

Gill turned his attention away from William and Patch, to where Sammy was talking to Mr. Elias, "Alex and I went out to the ocean when we heard the radio call," he said, "by the time we got there, the other boat had vanished. Alex is investigating to see if he can find out what caused all that trouble earlier."

"Shame you couldn't have got there sooner to save the fish," Mr. Elias said, walking over to the aquarium, "still, no point in worrying about that now. Have you fed the octopus yet?"

"Not yet," Sammy replied, as Patch bounded over to him and started to bounce up and down on his hind legs, yapping excitedly, "but at least we were able to save one of the fish from out there."

Mr. Elias looked down at Gill. Gill looked up at Mr. Elias. The old man's face was wrinkled with age, his hair white, but he had the look of one who had been extremely tough in his youth, and was not about to let a little detail like old age slow him down now. He gave a little laugh when he saw Gill looking up at him, and then turned his attention back towards his grandson, "Pretty little fish you and Alex found," he said, "that's a moorish idol, that is. Was it the only one?"

"There were plenty of others around, but they were too far gone by the time we reached them," Sammy replied.

"Such a shame," the old man reached up to a shelf, and picked up a small, cylindrical object. He sniffed it once, and then emptied some small, brown pellets into his hand. "You know as well as I do that those fish are not good in captivity," he said, "sooner it goes back in the ocean where it belongs, the better."

"Yes, I know, I have done this before," replied Sammy, rolling his eyes in friendly exasperation, "can't release it just yet, though. It's been through too much."

"Some people have no respect for sea life," the old man muttered to himself, then turned his attention back to where Gill was still watching him curiously, "still, Sammy's right. Here's some food, little fella, that should help you to get nice and strong." With that, he released the pellets into the aquarium. Gill watched them fall into the water for a moment, backing away slightly when they began to land upon him.

"It's food," William explained, coming towards Gill, "humans feed us using this stuff." He began to eat the pellets, while Gill just watched him. After a minute or two, seeing that Gill was not eating anything, William looked up from his meal, "Why aren't you eating?" he asked.

Gill examined one of the food pellets cautiously. He had never seen anything quite like them before, so was naturally wary of them, "What is it?" he asked.

"I told you, food. Don't worry, it's not going to hurt you," William sighed, "the sooner you eat, the sooner you become strong."

Gill sighed, "And the sooner I become strong, the sooner I can leave this place. Fine." Cautiously, he nibbled at the food pellet. It was not unpleasant, but nowhere near as delicious as the plants that he had feasted on back in the ocean. He took another bite, and then turned his attention back to the old man, who was putting the fish food back on the shelf.

"That's it, little fish, get nice and strong so that you can be released once more," he said.

Yes, that's what I want too, Gill thought, although do not think that I am ungrateful to the ones that saved me. He was just wondering if there was some way in which he could communicate this thought to the old man, when he was distracted by Sammy's worried voice.

"I do worry about you taking Patch out for his walks all alone," Sammy said to the old man.

"Oh, you think just because I'm old that means that I can't do anything, is that right?" Mr. Elias asked, "I'm not completely useless, not yet."

"I didn't say you were," Sammy replied, "but you're not as young as you used to be. Please, just let me get you a phone so that you can contact me in an emergency."

"I don't need any of your portable new-fangled phones," the old man replied dismissively, "when I was your age, we didn't have anything like that. We were lucky if we had a phone in our homes."

"Just in case," Sammy said, "just in case something were to happen to you, so that we could get there in time."

The old man sighed, "You'll be going back to college in a few of weeks, anyway. Besides, I have my beeper, I don't need to figure out how to use some fancy new technology at my time of life." With that, the old man reached into his jacket, and pulled out some black, oblong object with a large red button at the bottom of it. "See, all I have to do is press this buzzer," he did so, which caused a loud buzzing noise, "and I can get you straight away. Much easier than learning all about this modern technology that you youngsters are always on about."

Sammy shook his head, "You'll never change, will you?" he asked affectionately, "but do be certain that you check that thing every day, just to be sure that it's working, okay."

The old man rolled his eyes, "Oh, very well," he said, "but I still think that you are making a fuss about nothing." He put the black beeper down on the shelf above the aquarium, next to the fish food. Gill turned to William, wearing a quizzical expression.

"Sammy's spending the summer with his grandfather," William explained, "he's studying marine biology at university, so this is a great place for him to get some real world experience. His grandfather's been working with marine life for many years, but is pretty much retired now, due to old age. The old man still likes to keep himself useful, though, by taking Patch for walks and looking after the creatures that Sammy and Alexander rescue."

"Humans grow old?" Gill asked.

"Yep, more and more of them are doing so, now, because of all the advances they are making in technology to prolong their lifespans, medical advances, that sort of thing. Trouble is, they get old, they get slower, can't do the things that they used to do. Like Mr. Elias there. From what I hear, when he was a young man, he'd go out on the boats into the deep ocean, rescue the fish and the dolphins and the other creatures. He taught Sammy and Alexander what to do to help these creatures when the boys were very young, and that's why they became so interested in this line of work, you see? But now he's slowing down, and he finds it frustrating," the octopus sighed, "can't say I blame him, it must be really annoying to not be able to do something any more that you used to be able to do easily. And the old man doesn't want to be seen as a source of pity, which is why he just keeps going, refusing to stop, even if he can no longer do everything that he used to be able to do when he was younger."

The old man sat down in a comfortable armchair, and petted Patch, who was leaping up to him, licking his face, and telling him that he loved him. Sammy was watching his grandfather, and it seemed as though he was worried about him. Gill watched Mr. Elias in silence for a long while. The old man's afraid of being pitied, Gill thought to himself, just as William had said, afraid that others will think that he's useless, just because he can no longer do what he used to be able to do easily when he was young. Gill looked away from the old man, and back to William, "I'd hate to be a source of pity," he admitted, "hate for anyone to think that I was unable to do things for myself, just because I could no longer do what I used to be able to. I can understand why that old man feels so frustrated, even though it's clear that Sammy only wants the best for him, and seems to just be worried for his safety."

The octopus smiled at Gill, and put a friendly tentacle around him, "That my friend, is called empathy," he said, "being able to see with another's eyes and feel from another's heart, despite the many differences that exist between you and him. Hold on to it, in time it might save more than just your own life."

Gill watched William uncertainly for a while, "What about you?" he asked, "how did you get here?"

"It was a long time ago," William began, "when I was young, I lived in the ocean, just like you. I was caught by some fishermen. Didn't know what was going on then, of course, was even more confused than you were when you were first dumped into this aquarium." He gave Gill a friendly look, "I was a lot like you in those days, thought I could do anything, but I learned, oh how I learned. He pointed a tentacle at where Mr. Elias had fallen asleep, Patch contentedly curled up on his lap, "not all humans are good like them," he said quietly, "some are just interested in their own selfish greed. There had been an…" he paused, as though trying to think of the right word, "illegal fishing expedition. Seems that there was this exotic restaurant that wanted to sell sea creatures as part of the menu. I was to be chopped up and made into some kind of fancy dish, but then Sammy and his grandfather got involved, found out about the illegal activities going on, and were able to close down the restaurant because it had been having a devastating effect upon the ocean life. They rescued the creatures held captive there, lots of them, who have since been released back into the ocean. But, like I said, I was a lot like you in those days, didn't give in without a fight. Didn't do much good, though, just meant that I lost a couple of tentacles, which meant that I had to be kept in captivity and looked after that much longer. I've been here ever since."

Gill looked curiously at his companion, "Your tentacles grew back?" he asked.

"Yes, in time," William said, "and in time I learned not to judge all humans by the actions of a few. Look, kid, some of your kind, some of my kind, some of all kinds of kinds, well, they get eaten by bigger fish, and that's just the way it is. Life is tough and dangerous out there in the ocean, but that's all a part of it. Those predator fish just need to hunt and kill to live. There's no point in getting all twisted with thoughts of revenge and hatred, because creatures just want what we all want, to live and to thrive. That's how it is with most creatures, humans included, they're just trying to muddle along in this world, same as we all are."

Gill turned his attention back to the old man, who was sleeping soundly in his armchair. He seemed content and happy, the dog sleeping on his lap. "Maybe we are not so very different, after all," Gill said quietly, as he watched the old man sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 3 – A Time to Heal, a Time to Learn_

Gill had lost track of the days since he had been taken from his home in the ocean, and spirited away to the tank that he now shared with William the octopus. Not that life inside of the tank was unpleasant, Gill told himself; the tank was just a place where he could stay until he had completely healed, and anyway, the humans had every intention of returning him to his ocean home as soon as he was well enough to be released. So, knowing that he was a patient rather than a prisoner made his predicament bearable.

Even so, Gill longed to return to his ocean home once more. There was little to do in the tank, and, as time went on, Gill grew more and more frustrated with his confinement. It was not that he disliked Mr. Elias, his Grandson Sammy or their friend Alexander, all of whom had treated Gill and William with a sort of practical kindness, ensuring that all of their needs were invariably met; but William seemed to be correct in his assessment that moorish idols didn't do well in captivity. It also was not that Gill disliked William, who seemed to be a source of almost infinite knowledge and information, but it was becoming clearer and clearer to Gill, with each passing day, that fish were not meant to be kept in a box, that they needed the freedom of the wide open ocean, with all of the wonders and the dangers that were a part of a fish's natural home.

The old man, Mr. Elias, would feed Gill and William at least once a day, usually after he had finished taking Patch for his walk. Even in the short time that Gill had watched him, it was clear that the old man was slowing down, was becoming less able to walk, and more and more frustrated at the fact that he was no longer as strong or as tough as he had once been. Sammy was clearly getting worried about him, although the old man did his best to shrug off his Grandson's concerns, claiming that being old was not the same as being useless, and that he would keep going, keep on contributing for as long as he was able.

And it had to be said that the old man had a mind that seemed to be as agile and effective as that of a man half his age. Many evenings Mr. Elias would slump into his favourite comfy chair, after taking Patch for a walk, would pick up a book, and would read aloud to Patch. According to William, half of the time the dog didn't know what the old man was talking about, but simply liked to be close to his master, since he liked listening to the sound of his master's voice. Apparently dogs were pack animals, and Patch felt that Mr. Elias was his pack alpha, meaning that he disliked being away from him for even the shortest period of time, since being close to the old man made Patch feel safe and secure.

Gill, however, did understand nearly everything that Mr. Elias read, and William was invariably able to provide him with the necessary information whenever he had questions concerning what Mr. Elias had been reading to Patch. And so Gill listened, and learned, as there was little else to do while being confined within the tank. He learned about human history, about how people from all over Europe had travelled to Australia and the Americas, and how the indigenous populations of these countries had suffered as a result of this migration. He learned about the Industrial Revolution, which had started in England many years ago, and had involved people making all kinds of wonderful objects – only for the pollution from their factories to harm the land, the air and the waters in which they operated. He learned about the boats and the ships that humans had made in order to cross the vast expanse of the oceans that covered the Earth, and the submarines that they had also built in order to explore the underwater world of Gill's natural home. Gill learned about chemistry, how everything that existed was made up of very small objects called particles, which connected together in weird and wonderful ways, thereby forming new objects, completely different from those that had been there before. He learned about geography and geology, about countries, mountain ranges and volcanos, and the many wonders and dangers of life on land.

He learned about physics and astronomy, about the forces which were a part of the world and the wider universe. He learned about engineering, about the filtration system that kept his aquarium home clean, apparently by taking in dirty water, removing both the visible grit from it and the invisible germs that could make a fish ill, and returning this purified water back out into the main area of the aquarium.

He learned that there were many different human languages, and that people from different countries tended to speak different languages, depending upon where they were from. This seemed strange to Gill, since all fish in the ocean spoke more or less the same language – although there might be different words for objects or concepts in different regions of the ocean, these differences were no more than those found in, for example, the type of English that was spoken in America compared to that which was spoken in Britain, or the type of Spanish that was spoken in Spain, compared to that which was spoken in Mexico - hardly different languages at all. Yet humans seemed to be so concerned about the barriers that were in place around the world, barriers that separated one group of humans from another. These barriers might include mountain ranges, oceans, seas and rivers, but these physical barriers tended to lead to more psychological barriers, the belief that people on one side of an ocean were fundamentally different from those on the other side of the ocean, when it was as clear as the water in Gill's tank that the differences between the humans in different parts of the world were minor, superficial, certainly not worthy of the level of hate and animosity that humans from one area of the world would devote to humans from another area of the world.

Gill found much of the information that he learned about humans to be troubling at first, as it seemed so strange that such a…creative, imaginative species would waste so much time hurting and killing each other, not to mention what they were prepared to do to the other creatures that walked on the land, flew in the sky, or swam in the waters. Yet, just as he was beginning to think that humanity was little more than a mistake of nature, so he would hear Mr. Elias tell Patch of great examples of human heroism, of extreme bravery and self-sacrifice in the face of adversity, of humans risking life and limb to help each other, as well as the other creatures with whom they shared their beautiful, wonderful, terrible planet. Gill really liked those stories, those tales of heroes risking everything for the greater good, of people fighting the good fight against sometimes seemingly impossible odds, and defeating the evil that threatened them, their people, their countries and their world. He took inspiration from such stories, and wondered if, some day, he would be equal to those great heroes from history.

Gill also really enjoyed listening to Mr. Elias reading fiction to Patch. These stories also often featured great heroes fighting the good fight against powerful enemies, overcoming adversity and returning home once more, forever changed by their adventures. What was most fascinating about these tales was the possibility of getting inside the minds of fictional characters, to learn about their motivations, their fears, their own personal histories. William had told Gill that it was by reading fiction of this nature that humans were able to develop empathy for each other, and for the other creatures on the land and the sea, since these stories allowed them to get inside the minds and the hearts of people and creatures that initially seemed to be very different from themselves, only to discover that, deep inside, they were not so very different after all, since their motivations and the reasons for their actions became all the more understandable once their thoughts were explained.

Some of Gill's favourite stories involved different types of animals having to work together, forming bonds of mutual protection with each other, as they travelled through various dangers, in order to reach a place of safety. One of his favourites involved an oath of mutual protection, whereby animals that would normally prey on each other had taken a vow to protect each other in the face of greater odds, caused by humans, who, in their unthinking desire to change and develop the land to their own liking, had forced the animals away from their natural home. These animals had therefore been forced to join together in their journey, as they made their way to a place of safety that they hoped they could eventually call home – Gill, trapped in the tank, could easily empathise with their plight. There were also tales where humans devised certain ceremonies, initiation rituals, whereby new members of a group would be welcomed by their more experienced colleagues, and were required to perform certain activities to demonstrate that they were now a part of these groups.

There was also a story of humans in the future, spending all of their days living in luxury on board a spaceship, all of their needs and requirements being met by their robot servants. Although everything that they could possibly need or require was instantaneously provided for them, the humans were merely surviving, not thriving, for they were not having new experiences or facing the potential dangers that were a fundamental part, as far as Gill was concerned, of being truly alive. Gill felt the same way, inside his clear prison, unable to experience the wonders and the dangers of the ocean. Of course, he understood that this was not because of any intended cruelty on the part of Mr. Elias or Sammy, that they were simply keeping him in the aquarium until he had completely recovered. But I'm still like those people on that spaceship, Gill thought to himself – I'm surviving, but not really living. So Gill continued to long to return to the ocean, with all of the dangers and wonders that that entailed.

Unfortunately, Gill was to find himself in captivity for far longer than he had initially anticipated. The trouble all began one evening, when Mr. Elias had been calling Patch over to himself, to take the dog for his evening walk. As Patch jumped up excitedly, the old man suddenly put his hand over his chest, and began wheezing, stepping backwards a couple of paces, and looking worried. Sammy came running from the other side of the room, where he had been feeding William and Gill, as soon as he heard his Grandfather gasping for breath. Mr. Elias tried to push him away, but Sammy gently forced the old man to sit down in his favourite comfortable armchair, and then gave him a glass of water. The old man protested, claimed that he was fine, but Sammy was insistent – Mr. Elias was to stay home and relax until he felt better. The old man had complained that Patch needed to go for his walk, to which Sammy had replied that he was quite capable of walking Patch, and insisted, once again, that the old man needed to relax. Mr. Elias had not exactly been happy about that, but had reluctantly agreed that it could not hurt to take one evening off, and that it might make him feel better and more able to contribute tomorrow. With no small amount of relief in his voice, Sammy had agreed that that was almost certainly the case, and had taken Patch out for his walk. The old man had spent a while just sitting in his favourite armchair, grumbling quietly to himself, as Gill had watched him with mild amusement. This amusement turned to worry, however, when the old man put his hand over his chest once more, and became very pale, and clearly unable to breathe. Gill looked at William, who merely looked back at him. "Old age, kid," he said, "there's no cure for that, unless you count the very extreme and completely terminal one."

"I'm not giving in without a fight!" Gill replied, looking around himself quickly, wondering what he could do to help the old man.

"Doesn't surprise me," William said airily, "you wouldn't be Gill if you did. Still, can't see what you can do about it right now," he gave him a knowing grin, and looked upwards towards the shelf.

Gill followed his line of sight up to the beeper that Mr. Elias had left near the fish food. That's how I can contact Sammy and Patch, who can come back and help Mr. Elias, he realised. William wanted me to figure that out for myself. But how to get out of this tank to actually press that red button on the beeper? Well, I'd better try something. With that, Gill tried to jump out of the water, trying time and time again to reach the beeper and press the big red button to alert Sammy that his Grandfather was unwell and needed his help. Yet, no matter how hard Gill tried, he could not seem to make himself jump high enough to reach that beeper, and Mr. Elias' wheezing and coughing was not exactly helping his concentration. He turned to William, "Help me!" he said.

"I thought you wanted to kill them all," William replied, giving him a wry grin.

Gill growled, turning away from William in frustration, glaring up at the beeper as though willing it to be lower down so that he could reach it. It was only then that he felt William pulling him back to the far side of the tank. He turned around and looked at William in confusion.

William winked at him, "Pressure equals force divided by area, kid," he said.

"What do you mean?" Gill demanded.

"Simple. I pull you back further, and you will be able to reach that button when I let go, due to the force of my pull. Take a big breath." He winked at Gill once more.

"You're going to help me reach that thing?" Gill asked.

William grinned at him again, "'Course I am, kid," he said, "you'll do. You'll very much do, you got spirit, determination and a heart to match. Not often you get all three in one fish. Two, yeah, sometimes, but not often all three. Now hold your breath as you'll be out of the water for a bit."

Feeling more than a little uncertain, Gill held his breath, as William launched him towards the big red button on the beeper.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 4 – A Friend in Need_

Gill held his breath, as William launched him from the safety of the tank, up into the air, on a trajectory leading directly towards the beeper. Gill stared at it in determination, and hit it directly in the centre with enough force that the impact sent him back into the water of the tank. Gill shook himself momentarily, took a deep breath, and then turned his attention back to the beeper once more.

A buzzing sound was coming from it – good, that meant that he had managed to switch it on. He turned around to look at William, who just stared back at him impassively. He wants to see what I do next, Gill realised; he's not going to force me to do anything, only to encourage me to reach my own limit, my own potential. He turned his attention back to the buzzer. There was irritable grumbling coming from it, and he could just make out Sammy's voice, "Stupid thing, Granddad told me that he'd charged this stupid machine. Why's it making this noise?" He sighed, and his voice became slightly louder, "Hello, did you want to get in touch with me. Granddad?" he waited for a moment, and then continued, "This isn't funny. Grandad, I enjoy a joke as much as anyone, but that's long enough. Tell me if you feel okay." He waited for another awkward moment, then gave a slightly worried sigh, "If this isn't Granddad, then please get off of this thing now. I need this to get in contact with my Grandfather."

"Can you hear me?" Gill asked. He shook himself, irritably – of course Sammy would not be able to hear him while he was underwater. He swam back up to the top of the tank, "Can you hear me?" he repeated.

He waited for another awkward moment. But, after all, what had he been expecting? Humans seemed to be completely unable to communicate with all of the other species that shared their world.

Well, not quite all. William had told Gill that humans had lived and worked with dogs for thousands of years, that they, in a sense, had made dogs from wolves, and so the bond between dog and master was different than all of the other connections that humans had with non-human species. Well, it was worth a try, "Patch, can you hear me?" he asked.

"Pretty little fishy!" Patch replied excitedly. "Patch loves the pretty little fishy! Is that the pretty little fishy talking to me on the big black box?"

"Yes, this is the," Gill rolled his eyes slightly, "pretty little fishy." He ignored William's sniggering from the other side of the tank.

Gill could hear the dog barking through the beeper, clearly excited to hear his voice. "Calm down," Gill instructed. "I need your help."

"Of course, of course, Patch loves pretty little fishy, and wants to help pretty little fishy all he can," came Patch's excited reply.

"Calm down," Gill repeated, "something's wrong with Mr. Elias. I don't know what, and can't help. But you can."

Gill rolled his eyes again as he heard Patch whimpering. "No, poor Master, something bad has happened to poor Master!" he whined, "Patch is sad. Poor Master is not well and Patch is sad!"

"Yes, that's right," said Gill, wondering if all dogs were like this, "but you can make him better. Or, to be more precise, Sammy can. But you can get Sammy's attention, get him to come home and help his Grandfather."

"Yes, yes yes!" Patch yapped excitedly, "Patch wants to do that! Patch wants to be a big brave hero that saves the day. Thank you, pretty little fishy."

"The name's Gill," Gill muttered to himself, rolling his eyes once more. "Good," he said, much louder this time, "now get Sammy's attention so that you can get him to come home. Do this now."

There was a moment of silence, and then Gill could hear Sammy's voice, "What are you doing, you stupid dog?" he asked irritably, "You've got the lead all tangled up. And stop whining. I know that you would prefer to be with Granddad, but he's not feeling well right now, so I'll have to do, okay?"

With that, Patch whined all the louder. There was another pause, and then Sammy's voice could be heard again, and sounded more worried this time, "That's it, boy, is it? You know that something's happened to Grandad, and you want me to get back there? Well, they do say that animals can sense thing's that we can't, and it's best just to make sure. Okay, boy, we'll go home now."

Gill turned around to where William was watching him with an amused look in his eyes. "Not bad, kid, not bad at all," he said with grudging admiration. "I wonder what you will be when you are my age. Still, time and time alone will tell. Not much more we can do now but wait."

Gill turned his attention to Mr. Elias, where he was wheezing in his armchair. He still looked pale and worried, but at least he did not seem to have gotten any worse. "I don't know if you can understand me," Gill said, as he caught Mr. Elias' eye, "but I want you to be okay. You're Grandson saved me, so it's only fair and honourable that I repay the favour."

"Ah, of course," muttered William knowingly, "a matter of honour and not wanting to be in someone else's debt, that's all it is, of course. Couldn't be that a fish a tough as you actually has a soft side underneath that tough, crabby shell now, could it?"

Gill ignored him, focusing instead on Mr. Elias, wondering if there was some way in which he could make the old man understand him. "I was able to contact Patch," he told him, "he's managed to convince Sammy to come home and help you. They should both be home soon. Hopefully they will be able to help you to be okay once more."

"Of course," said William, "your own safety right now depends upon what happens next, as does mine. If something serious does happen to the old man, do you really think that Sammy will be able to have time to worry about what happens to us?"

"That never even crossed my mind," Gill said honestly. However, now that the octopus had mentioned it, he could tell that William had a point – Sammy would, naturally enough, be more concerned with the well-being of his Grandfather, and might not have time to worry too much about his aquatic rescues. Gill realised that it was now even more urgent that Mr. Elias should be helped back to health, since more than just his own life depended on it.

This made waiting almost unbearable; Gill had never been the most patient of fish, but there was little to do now except to wait, as patiently as possible, and hope for the best.

Time seemed to stand still, as Gill swam from one side of the tank to the other and back again, all the time being watched by William. After about the sixth or seventh time that he had done this, William sighed, and stopped him with an outreached tentacle. "You're just going to wear yourself out if you keep on doing that," he told him, not unkindly, "and what good is that going to do anyone?"

Gill sighed, and turned away from him, "Well, what else can I do?" he muttered irritably.

"Nothing. Just wait," William replied, "although I know that for your kind, sometimes that can be the hardest thing of all."

"What do you mean, 'my kind'" Gill demanded irritably, "every time you use that phrase, you mean something different!"

William chuckled, " _That's_ what I mean," he replied, "not exactly one for patience, are you lad? Want to get out there and do stuff straight away, without waiting, without thinking." William gave the octopus equivalent of a shrug, his tentacles moving in a strange manner as he moved them up and down, "Oh, there's times when that's the best course of action, I'll grant you that. But not many. Most of the time, it's best to think, to reason, before taking action. A lot of the time when you don't think before acting, you just wind up being lunch for some bigger fish." He stared at Gill for a long moment, and then gave him the smallest of smiles, "And I know you're capable of being more than that, kid, much, much more."

"What do you actually want of me?" Gill demanded in exasperation.

William chuckled again, "Well, you could watch your temper for a start," he said, "but all I really want is for you to live up to your own potential. And that means thinking before acting. Rather than rushing in like wind in seaweed, assess the situation that's in front of you, think before you act, reason before you make a mistake that you might end up regretting later. That's all I want."

Gill sighed, "Fine, I promise, but I don't see how that's going to help me help Mr. Elias right now."

William looked like he was going to reply, when suddenly he was interrupted by the sound of worried barking coming from the door. A moment later, the door was hurriedly opened by Sammy, and Patch came bouncing in on his lead, raced over to where Mr. Elias was still wheezing, and then turned back to Sammy, whimpering in concern.

Sammy let go of the lead and came racing over to his Grandfather, muttering to himself, "I knew I shouldn't have left you on your own." A moment later, he was calling a doctor on his phone, and then turning his attention back to his Grandfather once more, "the doctor will be here soon," he said, "just hold on for a bit. I'll get you a glass of water." Without another word, he went and got the old man a drink of water, and helped him to drink it.

The old man's wheezing seemed to subside a little, and he gave Sammy a slightly embarrassed smile, "Not sure what came over me for a bit there," he managed to say, "I'm sure I'll be okay in a day or two."

"Yeah, maybe," Sammy replied uncertainly, "what happened anyway?"

The old man wheezed for a bit before replying, "Not sure, just felt a tightness in my chest. Started coughing and wheezing, then I'm not sure what happened."

"Well, it's a good thing that you were able to contact me," Sammy said, "the doctor will come here, look you over, and then we can decide what to do from there."

The old man looked at him uncertainly for a bit, "Odd thing," he said, "I don't remember contacting you."

"Well, I suppose you would have had difficulty remembering much at all when you felt like that," Sammy said, giving him a nervous smile.

The old man gave him a slightly embarrassed smile once more, "Yeah, guess so. But I could have sworn that I didn't even touch the beeper."

"Is that so?" Sammy asked playfully, "So who did? The fish?" He turned his attention to where Gill was watching them, wearing an innocent expression.

"Very funny," the old man replied.

A moment later, there was a knock at the door. Sammy went to answer it, and a man introducing himself as Doctor Jones entered into the room. A minute or two later, he was examining Mr. Elias, putting a stethoscope to his chest, asking him to breathe, and listening attentively through the stethoscope. Gill didn't pretend to understand half of what he was doing, but William explained that some humans were doctors, people trained in medicine, people who had dedicated their lives and their careers to helping to make sick people well. William had told him that if anyone could make Mr. Elias well, then it would be this Doctor Jones. Then he explained that there were also vets, humans who were a lot like doctors, except that they were experts in treating sick animals rather than sick humans.

"Humans are strange creatures," Gill said, watching with fascination as Doctor Jones treated Mr. Elias, "just when I think I'm beginning to understand them, I start to think that I never will."

William gave a quiet chuckle, "Welcome to the human world kid," he said.

"I think your Grandfather is going to be okay," Doctor Jones told the worried looking Sammy, "but I'd like to take him to the hospital overnight just to make sure."

Sammy nodded, "I'm coming too," he said, "I might be able to be of some help."

The doctor shrugged, "That's fine with me, just don't be long finishing up here, okay."

Sammy nodded, and went over to the aquarium. He looked down at where Gill was still watching him curiously. He gave a small laugh, "Honestly, I'd swear you understood everything I said, if I didn't know better." He poured in more fish food than Gill had ever seen him pour into the tank in one go before, "That should be enough for the both of you until I get back." With that, he grabbed his keys, picked up Patch's lead and led the dog out of the door, following Doctor Jones, who was helping to support Mr Elias out of the room. The door shut behind them.

There was a moment of awkward silence, as Gill turned his attention from the fish food, to William, then back to the fish food once more.

"Better leave that for a bit, kid," he warned, "might have to last us a while."

"I don't feel hungry anyway," Gill said, honestly, "what can we do now."

William gave him a wry smile, "This is a test of patience, kid," he said, not unkindly, "nothing we can do now except wait."


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 5 – Change of Address_

 **Author's Note – Hi all, and a Merry Christmas, or seasonally appropriate greetings. I hope you like this latest chapter. Enjoy!**

Gill chewed the fish food disinterestedly, while he waited inside the tank, watched all the time by William. Gill hated waiting, and hated even more that there seemed to be nothing else that he could do right now. He sighed quietly to himself. If there was one thing that he hated more than waiting, it was feeling helpless, being unable to do anything to improve the situation. It took his mind back to that time, back in the ocean, when so many of his brothers and sisters had been killed by that vicious oil, and Gill himself had been helpless to stop it. Now, as then, Gill wished that there was something he could do, but knew that there was not.

The door opened suddenly, and Patch bounced in, followed by Sammy. Gill swam to the side of the tank, just as Patch came up to him, "What's happening with Mr. Elias?" he asked.

Patched whined for a moment, "Oh poor Master, poor Master is sick!" he told him.

"What's going to happen to him?" Gill persisted.

Before Patch could answer, Sammy made his way over to the aquarium, and looked sadly inside it, at where Gill was watching him uncertainly. Sammy shook his head, "Can't exactly be moving you all the way to Perth," he said, "there's going to be enough to do to get Grandad to move in there with Mum. Besides, I'm not sure that it would be in your best interests to move you to the other side of the country, anyway."

Gill turned to William, "I didn't understand any of that," he admitted.

William chuckled quietly to himself, "Australia is basically a massive island, most of it's desert, in the middle bits. Around the outside, on the coast, people have built lots of cities and things, but they haven't spent much time tinkering with the middle bit. Perth is one of these cities, on the other side of this huge island. Sounds like Mr. Elias is slowing down, can't manage as much as he once did, so Sammy wants him to move in with his Mum, who is the daughter of Mr. Elias," he said.

"Yes, yes, yes, that's right, William the squishy octopus!" yapped Patch, "Poor, poor Master is feeling unwell, unable to manage here, so nice healer people at the big hospital advised him to go and live with his daughter, so that she can make sure that he will be cared for properly as he gets older and slower. Poor, poor Master!" he started to whine again.

"It's not so bad," said Gill, trying to cheer Patch up a little, "I'm sure that Sammy's Mum will be able to take care of him, to be able to help him," he assured the dog.

"Yes, and that is good," said Patch. "but I don't want to leave here, Patch likes it here."

"Is there any way that you can persuade the humans to let you stay here?" asked Gill.

"Patch doesn't think so," the dog began, "and Patch wants to stay with Master, wherever he goes, even if that means leaving here. But Patch will miss here, and Patch will miss the pretty little fishy and William the squishy octopus."

"Oh, don't worry about me, kid," said William, slipping and sliding towards the side of the tank, "I've lived so long that I can survive pretty much everything. And I'm sure that you'll like it in Perth, I hear it's a very nice city."

Patch whined a little, "Patch is still sad about leaving here, and leaving you both," he said.

Sammy came over to where Patch was staring forlornly at the aquarium. Sammy absentmindedly scratted the dog behind the ear, as he looked in at where Gill and William were staring out at him. Sammy turned his attention to Patch, "Saying good-bye to your little friends, are you, boy?" he asked. "Don't worry about them, I'll make sure that they go to a good home."

Gill felt slightly relieved upon hearing that, as he had been wondering what would happen to William and himself if Sammy's understandable worrying about his Grandfather had led to him forgetting all about the two of them. Fortunately, the human seemed to be thinking carefully about what would be best for both of his aquatic rescues.

Sammy looked thoughtfully at William for a long moment, and then shook his head, "I would have preferred to have waited for at least a week or more before setting you free into the ocean once more," he said quietly, "but I've got to get ready to go back to university, and now with all of this trouble with Grandfather…" his voice trailed off, and he shook his head again. He reached into the tank, and, to Gill's surprise, William made his way towards the hand, put all of his tentacles around the outstretched hand, and allowed Sammy to lift him out of the tank.

Gill watched in puzzlement as Sammy put a small needle into one of William's tentacles, and withdrew a very small amount of blood. Sammy then placed the octopus into a much smaller container of water, and then looked through a metal tube to examine the blood. William turned back to where Gill was watching the both of them. To Gill's surprise, William seemed completely relaxed, "What did he just do to you?" Gill asked, concern and worry in his voice.

"Oh, don't worry about that, kid," said William dismissively, "these humans are here to conserve ocean life, not to harm it, and ironically that sometimes means causing it a bit of harm. Sammy just wants to see if I really am okay to go back in the ocean yet, that's all."

"But he just pricked you, made you bleed!" Gill said, sounding shocked.

William pointed to the tube that Sammy was looking down, "That thing's called a microscope," he explained, "it magnifies things, makes very small things look much bigger than they really are, so that humans can examine them properly. It's just a blood test, nothing to worry about, humans do them all the time. As I said before, he just wants to see if I really am well enough to go back to the ocean just yet, and to do that he has to examine my blood under that microscope."

Gill watched, fascinated and slightly worried, as Sammy continued to stare down the microscope. After a while, Sammy turned his attention back to where William had been watching him calmly the whole time. "Well, my squishy friend," he said, giving him a very small nod, "it seems that I was right. Although I would have preferred to have waited for a little while longer, you're healthy enough now to go back to where you belong."

"Where's that?" Gill asked, watching the octopus with some concern.

"Same place as you, kid," said William, giving him a small smile, "the place where creatures like us belong is the ocean, not stuck in a box. It can drive you insane, being kept in a box your whole life." He nodded towards Sammy, "Don't get me wrong, kid, him and his kind have been kind to me, looked after me ever since they rescued me, and I'm grateful, so very grateful for their care and devotion all this time. But I've been longing to taste the ocean for so long now, that the thought of being back there at last is like a dream come true, after all this time."

"I am happy for you," said Gill, "but I will miss you. You've taught me so much."

"Heh, who mentors the mentors, is that what you mean kid?" William asked.

"One last riddle before you go back where you belong, is that right?" Gill asked, giving him a wry smile.

William returned the smile, "You would expect anything less?" he asked playfully.

"William the squishy octopus is going back in the big blue water once more?" Patch asked.

"That's right pup," said William, turning his attention to the dog, "your place is by your Master's side, mine is in the ocean, that's just the way it is."

"And where is mine, do you think?" Gill asked quietly.

William chuckled quietly to himself, "You'll find out, kid, perhaps sooner than you ever imagined," he said, "and don't you worry about me, I'll be fine. And who knows, maybe we'll meet again someday, when you too are well enough to go back to your ocean home."

Sammy had been watching William, an amused look in his eyes, "Saying good-bye to your friends, are you?" he asked playfully, "Don't you worry about them, I'll make sure that they are okay. Now it's time that you were returned to your ocean home." He turned to where Patch was watching him, "Come on, boy, you can accompany me as I take him back to where he belongs."

Patch started to jump up on Sammy, licking him enthusiastically. Sammy laughed, and gently pushed the dog down once more. Then he picked up the small container with William inside, and a moment later, he had left with the octopus and the dog.

"Back to the ocean home," Gill muttered to himself, staring out at the suddenly empty room. Gill had never minded being alone, for when you are one of over three hundred siblings, any moment you can get to yourself is precious, due to being incredibly rare. But in that moment, left alone for the first time within the tank, without even the sounds of humans or a dog chattering, he felt suddenly very lonely. Back in the ocean, there was always someone around, someone to talk to, or a friendly fish nearby who would be only too willing to accompany him on a swim around the reef. Now he was alone, in a way that he had never been before. Even the tank itself now seemed empty and uninviting, whereas with William inside it, it had always seemed, if nowhere near as welcoming as his ocean home, at least a comforting enough place to spend his time while he gradually healed. Gill shook himself, frowning slightly as he swam from one side of the aquarium to the other. This was the way it should be, he told himself, William belonged in the ocean, just as Gill himself belonged there, but could not return there just yet, due to all the trouble that had been caused by that oil. He sighed quietly to himself, wondering what would have happened to him had he never swam into those cursed black waters, had he never been covered in oil, never been rescued by Sammy and Alexander, never met Patch and William and Mr. Elias. Perhaps he would still have been in the reef even now, swimming happily around the ocean depths, never knowing anything about the human world that existed above the water.

Perhaps Mr. Elias would have died, if Gill had not been there to contact Patch so that Sammy could be alerted to his Grandfather's plight.

Gill sighed again. Well, there was no point in worrying about what might have been. Both William and Mr. Elias would be taken to where they should be, Patch would stay with his Master, and Sammy would go back to learn more about the creatures of the ocean in this university place. Everyone's future's seemed to be assured.

Except for his own.

The door opened, and Patch came bounding over to Gill. Sammy followed him inside the room, closing the door behind him. Patch licked the aquarium where Gill was staring out at him.

Just as he had done that time when they had first met. That thought made Gill smile. "Hello, Patch," he said, "has William been returned to the ocean?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" yapped Patch, "William the squishy octopus was returned back to the big, big blue water. Said that was where he needed to be, he was so happy, yes he was!" Patch looked down, "But Patch will miss William the squishy octopus," Patch admitted, suddenly sounding sad.

"Yeah," said Gill, giving him a small smile, "you and me both, pup. You and me both."

"Having a chat with your little fishy friend, are you boy?" Sammy asked, kneeling down and patting Patch's head, while staring thoughtfully at Gill, "Well, now, my little fishy companion, you can't go back to the ocean just yet, it's much too soon for that." He continued to stare at Gill for a long moment, as though trying to make a decision. Then he smiled, and nodded to himself, "Got it. I know someone who is very keen on tropical fish and will take good care of you. Time to go on a trip."

Gill watched warily as Sammy picked up a small, clear square box, and then dipped it into his aquarium. Gill tried to swim away from the container, but Sammy was able to trap him by luring him into one of the corners of the tank. Sammy scooped up the container, complete with Gill and salt water, and brought it to eye level. He smiled as he looked at Gill, "Don't worry, you'll be fine," he said, "we're just going to go on a little trip, that's all." Without another word, a lid was placed over Gill's new container, trapping him inside in a suddenly dark, tiny, lonely place. Gill tried to assure himself that Sammy only wanted the best for him, and was merely trying to help him; but he still felt scared as, for the second time in his life, he was transported in a human container to an unknown destination, and an unknown future.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 6 – A New Home_

 **Author's Notes – Happy New Year to everyone reading my stories.**

It was impossible for Gill to tell how long he was transported, within the dark confines of the box. Gill kept trying to assure himself that Sammy only wanted the best for him, that he would be taking him to a place of safety, a place where he could finally finish healing, before being released back into his ocean home once more. Yet Gill could not help but feel a certain amount of trepidation, as he felt movement going on underneath him, as he could only guess at where he was going, or about what was going to happen to him once he reached his destination.

He tried to get some sleep, but his feelings of vague anxiety made it impossible to relax enough in order to do so. There was no food in the small container – surely an indication that he would not be moved too far, or that his journey would not take too long. But then again, humans were strange creatures, strange and unpredictable; Gill did not pretend to understand even half of what they did. Still, there always seemed to be some strange, ironic logic to their actions, even if this was at times beyond the comprehension of a fish.

Finally, he felt a slight jolt, and realized that they must have come to a stop. That was a good thing, surely? It must mean that they had reached their intended destination, meaning that it would only be a short duration of time until Gill could be placed somewhere where he would be able to complete his healing. Gill felt someone – Sammy surely? – pick up his container and carry it in his hands. Gill was still in total darkness – both literally and metaphorically – when he felt the movement come to a halt. He could hear Sammy speaking, and another, unfamiliar voice, replying. He concentrated hard on listening, so that he could hear what was being said.

"…So you see," that was Sammy's voice, "I can't keep him, what with going back to university, and Grandad moving in with Mum in Perth. So I remembered when I came here when I was a little boy. I remember I used to look at your fish tank," he gave a little laugh, "I have to admit that it was the only thing that made coming to see the dentist worth all the hassle, being able to see your fish. Then I remembered that you still worked here, and I thought, well, I know he likes tropical fish, and I know that he likes diving. I thought perhaps you would be able to give our rescue fish a good home."

"Well now," Gill didn't recognise that voice, "that's very kind of you to think about me, what with everything else going on in your life. Can I have a look at the little fella?"

"Of course," Sammy replied.

Suddenly, Gill was almost blinded by light, after having been in darkness for some time. As his eyes gradually adjusted to the light, the blurred shape in front of him metamorphosed into a big, pink, friendly face, which was staring intently at him. Gill stared back at this unfamiliar human. He seemed to be older than Sammy, but not as old as Mr. Elias, and he was wearing a white coat. As Gill's eyes continued to adjust, he looked away from the new human, to the surrounding area. He seemed to be in a strange room, with posters on the walls, a large window to one side, and a couple of lamps opposite each other. Gill turned around, and saw a very large fish tank not far away from the window.

"Well now, isn't he a beauty?" said the new human in appreciation, "don't worry about him, I'll make sure that he's given everything that he needs." Without another word, Gill found himself being unceremoniously, but not ungently, tipped into the new fish tank. He looked back at the human in the white coat, and then back at Sammy. He swam from one side of the fish tank to the other. It was nearly twice the size of the aquarium back in Mr. Elias' lounge, but it seemed smaller, because it was so crowded with plastic miniatures. There was a miniature volcano complete with imitation lava, a miniature ship, three tiki heads, a barrel, lots of imitation plants, a diver that was making its way from the bottom of the tank to the top, and an imitation human skull. Gill investigated each one of these miniatures in turn, fascinated by them all – the human who had put this tank together seemed to have wanted to recreate a kind a miniature underwater world with tiny plastic figures, although Gill had no idea why a human would want to do that. Once again, humans seemed like a strange, incomprehensible species, although Gill could not help but be amazed at their creative ability.

Sammy had been watching him the whole time, and laughed quietly to himself, "Thank goodness, he seems to like it there," he said.

"He does, doesn't he?" the human in the white coat said, staring at Gill, and smiling as Gill went to investigate the plastic skull. Of all the strange items inside this new aquarium, this one fascinated him the most. Generally, he had found that humans did not like talking about, or even, from what he could tell, thinking about, death. Yet here was a plastic skull, a symbol of death, and one that had obviously been created by a human, and then someone had decided to place it inside an aquarium, where it was clearly on display. Gill shook himself slightly. Stop trying to make sense of these strange bipeds, he told himself; you'll only drive yourself crazy, and it's not as if you're any closer to understanding them now than you were when you were scooped up from the ocean, so long ago. Instead, Gill cautiously examined one of the eye-sockets of the plastic skull, and then swam inside the skull. There was just about enough room for him to get comfortable within the confines of the plastic skull. Good, he thought, since it seemed like he would be here for quite some time, the inside of this skull appeared to be a suitable place where he could sleep and rest when he needed to.

"Well, I'm glad that's sorted out," said Sammy, "that's a nice aquarium you have there, hopefully the little guy will come to feel at home in it." With that, Sammy waved goodbye to the human in the white coat, and left the room.

Gill cautiously swam out of the plastic skull, and watched as the human in the white coat came over to the aquarium and placed his head right in front of Gill. "You just get accustomed to living here little fella," he said, smiling, "I've got stuff to prepare before my next appointment." With that, he went to the other side of the room. Within a couple of minutes, there was an unpleasant drilling noise coming out of a thin metallic tube in his hands. Gill watched, perplexed, for a while, as the human seemed to examine various small metal objects, some of which made unpleasant noises when he fiddled with them. Gill shook himself again. Humans, he thought, strange creatures, was there really any point in his attempting to understand them? Probably not, he decided. It would probably be better to carry on investigating this new aquarium instead. So he investigated one of the plastic, imitation plants. It was stuck into the base of the aquarium, but Gill found himself able to lift it out of its base by grabbing onto it in his mouth, and swimming upwards. Not that that succeeded in very much, he had to admit, as he watched the liberated plant gradually sink to the base of the aquarium, but at least it was giving him a little bit of control and autonomy over his new environment.

"I don't think you ought to do that." It was a female voice, and sounded as if it was coming from inside the aquarium.

Gill looked around suddenly, trying to locate the voice. "Hello?" he asked warily, "Where are you?"

"Up here, attached to the side of the tank," came the reply.

Puzzled, Gill swam up to where he thought the voice had come from. There, attached to the side of the aquarium, was a small, pink starfish. She removed the top half of her body, with a slight sucking sound, and stared at Gill, upside down. "I don't think you should remove the plants from where they are," she said, "the boss might not like it if you do that."

"The boss?" Gill asked.

With another sucking sound, the starfish detached herself completely from where she had been attached to the side of the tank. She sank gradually down to the base of the aquarium. Unsure of what else to do, Gill followed her. She pointed towards the human in the white coat, who was examining another one of his metal tools. "The dentist," she said, "Doctor Sherman. He works here, and this is his aquarium."

"Dentist?" Gill asked.

"Do you know what a doctor is?" asked the starfish.

"Yes," said Gill, remembering Doctor Jones, "it's a human who has dedicated his or her life to making sick humans better."

"Exactly," replied the starfish. "A dentist is one of those, except that he only works with humans' teeth and the surrounding area of their mouths, such as their gums."

Gill watched the human for a while. Those tools he was examining seemed more like the sort of mediaeval torture tools that he had heard Mr. Elias reading to Patch about, rather than tools made to help the sick. Still, he reminded himself once more, humans could be very strange and unpredictable creatures, so he should not really be surprised if they used strange and unpredictable tools. He turned his attention back to the starfish, "And he's the boss around here, is he?" he asked.

"Yes, he's the one in charge. Most of the other humans come and go, patients, those needing appointments, and sometimes their parents if they are children," said the starfish. "There's Barbara, his receptionist, but she does not take much notice of this aquarium most of the time."

Gill looked around himself, at the fish tank that was apparently his new home. "I have to admit that this place is quite impressive," he said, as he watched the miniature diver make its way from the bottom to the top of the aquarium, "it's much bigger, and has far more inside it, than the aquarium that I was in before."

"Where was that?" asked the starfish.

"In Mr. Elias' lounge," Gill replied.

The starfish looked confused. "I don't know where that is," she admitted.

"Australia, I think," said Gill, "and before that, I lived in the ocean."

The starfish's small, black eyes seemed to shine when Gill said that, "Oh, the ocean," she said, sounding excited, "I've heard about that. Isn't it a sort of huge fish tank, that just keeps going on forever?"

Gill chuckled at her excited expression. "Well, I've never heard it described quite like that before," he admitted. "But yes, it is huge, far bigger than the biggest fish tank that you can imagine, and it just goes on and on. And within it, there are hundred, thousands, millions of different fish and other sea creatures, all living their lives and making homes for themselves within its depths."

The starfish was watching him intently, "You miss it, don't you?" she said quietly, "you've lived in captivity for a while, but you don't feel at home in a tank. You want to go back to the ocean, don't you?"

Gill gave her a small smile, "It's as if you can read my mind," he admitted.

The starfish gave a little laugh, "No, not your mind, but your body language, certainly."

Gill swam to the side of the tank. "Humans rescued me from the ocean, when I got covered in some strange, black liquid that I think is called oil," he said. "I had to spend some time in their aquarium in order to recover. They were kind to me, gave me everything that I needed, and I could stand being in captivity only because I knew that they intended to release me back into the ocean as soon as I was well enough to go back there." He sighed, "But then one of the older humans got sick, so I was sent here to finish my healing," he said, "but in all that time, I never stopped longing to taste the ocean once more, to feel the salty water under my fins, to swim free, to be free, in a way I could never be while living in even the largest fish tank."

The starfish put one of her arms on Gill's side, and gave him a friendly smile, "I'm Peach," she said, "and I believe in you. I believe that you will make it back to your ocean home someday." She pointed with another arm, "This must be one of the most sought after places of dentistry in the world," she said, "that window over there leads onto the harbour. You can see the Sydney Opera House from it." She chuckled slightly, "That's got to be one of the most famous of landmarks in the entire world, certainly in the southern hemisphere. I bet only the Empire State Building in America, The Eiffel Tower in France, and Big Ben in England are even more famous than that opera house. Of course, Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside the clock tower, not the clock tower itself, but humans often get that mixed up."

Gill gave her a slightly puzzled look. Peach gave a little chuckle, "Anyway, that's not important," she said, "what is important is that, just beyond that harbour, the ocean is out there, just waiting for you. And I believe that someday you will return back there, where you belong."

Gill smiled at her, "Thank you for believing in me," he said, "will you come with me when I do go back there?"

Peach gave him a small smile, "I think I would like that," she said, "I think I would like that very much indeed."


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 7 – Nigel_

 **Author's Notes – As requested, here is the next chapter of** _ **The Guardian's Tale.**_ **Gill won't be meeting the rest of the Tank Gang just yet, but he does meet a certain friendly pelican in this chapter. Enjoy!**

It had been three days since Gill had arrived at his new home. He was gradually getting used to life in the new tank, and had spent some time exploring around the aquarium. He had also spent rather a lot of time with Peach, who had told him quite a lot about Doctor Sherman. The dentist seemed to be a little bit crazy – perhaps not surprising, considering that he had made his career staring into people's mouths – probably not the best way to maintain sanity.

Peach had a started to teach Gill how to read human. It had seemed strange at first, the very idea that humans made certain symbols, and these symbols could be translated into sounds, and these sounds could be grouped together to make words. But it was really clever, Gill had to admit, since being able to read and write had enabled humans to communicate and learn from other humans, people who might have lived very far away in both space and time. And so Peach had shown Gill one of the Doctor Sherman's manuals – the dentist was always leaving manuals, leaflets or books around, many of them close enough to the aquarium for Peach to be able to read them. And so shei had patiently explained that there were letters of the alphabet, and that these letters could be combined together to make words. Gill had managed to understand most of this when she had explained about the letter 'a' (which apparently was a vowel) and the letter 'b' (which apparently was a consonant, not to be confused with a continent, which is what he had called it the first time, leading Peach to have a good natured laugh at his expense). Then he had started to get into difficulties when Peach had explained about the letter 'c' (another consonant), since this could make a 'k' sound as in 'crisp', an 's' sound as in 'certain' a 'ch' sound as in 'chum' (but not in words such as chasm, when it reverted back to a 'k' sound) or no sound at all, as in 'science'. Gill told Peach that he was finding the whole thing really confusing. Peach had just laughed, told him that it was not unusual to be confused when you first started to learn human, and that he would soon get the hang of it, with perseverance and dedication. She also said that it could sometimes take humans many years to grasp learning to read, even though they invented the concept. Gill was unsure if he would ever really be as fast and efficient at reading as Peach was, but enjoyed the lessons anyway, since he liked spending time with Peach, as she was excellent company and great fun to talk to.

But today he had decided to take a day off from his lessons, and to instead examine his new home more thoroughly. At the moment, he was examining the miniature plastic volcano. It seemed to work by a process of pressure, whereby a knob was turned, leading to pressure building up inside the model volcano, which in turn resulted in bubbles being sent out of the top of the volcano. That seemed fairly straightforward. But could it be used to escape from this new aquarium? Gill was less certain about that. Perhaps if it could be pointed towards the window, and the pressure could be built up, then it could be used to shoot a fish out of the top of the volcano, and through the window. He had decided to do an experiment to see if this might work. With a little bit of effort, he pulled out one of the many plants that were attached to the base of the aquarium, placed it in the top of the volcano, swam down to the base of the volcano, and started to twiddle the knob, causing pressure to build up inside the volcano. Peach watched him the whole time, a bemused expression in her small, back eyes. Gill gave her a grin, and pointed towards where the dentist was dealing with his most recent patientii. "I can't remember whether or not Sammy said anything to him about releasing me back into the ocean once I've completely healed," he said, "but I need to plan some form of escape, just in case he has no intention of letting me out of here and back into the ocean, or in case he's completely forgotten about it."

He watched the dentist for a while. Doctor Sherman inserted some strange looking device into a young boy's mouth, and then started to ask him questions. The boy attempted to answer, but found this difficult, due to the strange looking device now inside his mouth. Gill rolled his eyes in exasperation. If dentists really wanted patients to tell them information, why didn't they ask them questions _before_ starting to place strange objects inside their mouths?iii It was quite likely that Doctor Sherman had forgotten everything Sammy had told him about releasing Gill back into the ocean – that is, if Sammy had mentioned anything about that, which Gill was unsure had been the case.

"Maybe," said Peach uncertainly, "but what do you intend to do with the volcano?"

"Pressure equals force divided by area," Gill replied, remembering what William had told him, "so if I can get enough pressure inside this volcano, I might be able to launch myself out of the window and into the harbour, and from there I should be able to make it back to the ocean." He grinned at her.

"That sounds dangerous," said Peach, looking uncertain.

Gill pointed towards the plant that he had put in the top of the volcano. "That's why I'm going to do a test run," he said, "see that plant in there?"

"Yes, I see it," said Peach, still looking uncertain.

"Well, if I can get enough pressure in the volcano, I should be able to launch it out of the window and towards the harbour. Just watch," he added.

It took a little time and effort – the knobs on the base of the volcano had been made for fingers, not for fins – but eventually Gill was able to twiddle the knob that controlled the pressure that led to the release of bubbles at the top of the volcano. A moment later, Gill watched in satisfaction as the plant was launched out of the open window –

Nearly hitting a pelican who had suddenly appeared at that window, and who watched the plant shoot past him, smiling with mild amusement. "Beware of low flying flowers, eh mate?" he said, winking at Peach in a friendly manner.

Upon seeing him, Gill quickly retreated to the safety of the plastic skull. He peered out of one of the eye sockets, and hissed at Peach, "Hurry up and hide, that's a bird. Birds eat creatures like us!"

"Oh, hi Nigel," said Peach, sounding completely at ease and not at all frightened at the fact that she was speaking to a bird.

"What's with the launching of plastic plants through the window?" Nigel asked, "Some new game?"

"Not exactly," said Peach. "It's all part of a complex escape plan, but only in the early stages of planning and development at the moment. You had better meet Gill, he will explain it to you better than I can," with that, she made her way towards where Gill was still watching them from his hiding place within the plastic skull. "You can come out now," Peach said, "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Uh, Peach," said Gill, as she beckoned for him to emerge from his safe hiding place, "there's something you should know about your friend over there," he gave the pelican a wary look, then turned his attention back to Peach, and hissed, "creatures like that eat fish!"

"Oh, don't worry about Nigel, he won't hurt you," said Peach confidently.

"What's going on down there?" Nigel asked, peering through the open window in an attempt to get a better view of what was happening inside the aquarium.

With no small amount of reluctance, Gill allowed Peach to lead him out of the safety of the plastic skull. He looked up at Nigel the pelican, and gulped. That bird could swallow him in one bite, he was pretty sure of that. However, Peach didn't appear to be in the least bit afraid of him. "This is Gill," said Peach, then turned her attention back to the pelican, "Nigel. Nigel, Gill," she introduced.

"Well, nice to meet you mate," said Nigel, smiling at Gill, "is the dentist taking good care of you here?"

Gill swallowed, "We have all of our basic needs met, if that is what you mean," he said.

"Right, okay mate," said Nigel uncertainly, "so what's with the shooting petals out of the window?"

"Um," Gill said, looking uncomfortable, "sorry to be rude, but I have to know: do you eat fish?"

Nigel gave Peach an uncertain look, "He's from the ocean," she explained, "birds eat fish out in the ocean, so fish avoid them, in order not to become bird food."

"An outie," said Nigel, smiling and nodding at Gill. "Right, right, I understand. Look, birds have to be able to eat, okay? It's nothing personal, but all creatures have to do what they have to do in order to survive. And yes, that does mean that I eat fish sometimes. But don't worry, I won't harm any fish that I know personally, and I certainly won't harm any friends of Peach here," he indicated the starfish.

"Seems a bit strange," Gill admitted.

Peach and Nigel exchanged another uncertain look, then Nigel turned his attention back to Gill once more, "Maybe a bit," he admitted, "but it's not so unusual. I mean, some humans have pet rats, but still put down poison to kill any wild rats that might enter their homes. Then there are farmers, some of them have pet pigs or sheep, often animals that they have reared from a young age, creatures that they help and protect, while quite happily making food of their relatives."

"I suppose so," said Gill, sounding uncertain.

"Anyway, what's with the shooting plants out of the window?" asked Nigel – he seemed desperate to change the subject, and understandably so.

"I'm trying to formulate a plan to get out of this box," Gill explained. "I thought I might be able to use the volcano. If I can build up enough pressure inside the volcano, maybe I can use it to launch myself out of this aquarium and into the harbour. What do you think?" he asked.

Nigel gave him a critical look, "Well, build-up of pressure inside the volcano, that makes a certain amount of sense," he said, "might even be able to use it to launch yourself out of the aquarium and through the window, yeah, that could work," he looked behind himself thoughtfully, "yeah, and from there, onto the awning, yeah, even that seems like it would be possible. It's after that that you run into difficulties with your planning, mate. There's this whole busy street to cross, you see. There's no way that you could get enough pressure to launch yourself even half way across the street towards the harbour."

"Oh," said Gill, suddenly feeling disappointed, "I guess I'll have to think of another plan, then."

"Yeah, guess so," said Nigel. "And anyway, why do you want to get out of that fish tank? Surely you've got everything you need in there?"

"Everything I need except freedom," Gill replied, "I was born in the ocean. Someday, hopefully a long time from now, I will die in the ocean." He sighed, "I won't live out the rest of my life in a box, I can't."

"Well, I'd start thinking about another plan then," said Nigel, giving him a small smile, "'cos launching yourself out of the window and onto the road, well, that's just not going to work. Sorry mate," he added.

"Yeah, guess so," said Gill, disappointed.

"Heh, cheer up, mate," said Nigel, smiling at him, "got to admit it was quite a clever plan, would have worked, too, if the harbour was just underneath the awning. But it's much too far away, and there's this busy street in the way."

Gill gave Nigel a small smile, "Well, thanks for letting me know. I'll think of something else, I'm sure."

Nigel gave him a wry smile, "Yeah, I think you will mate," he said, winking at him, "in fact I'm sure of it. Anyway, got to fly." With that, he flew out into the clear blue sky. Gill watched him flying into the freedom of the open sky and found himself longing for the freedom of the open ocean, which was so near, and yet still so very far away.

i In fact, starfish didn't have gender or sex in the way that Gill had always understood the concept, but he could not help thinking of Peach as female.

ii AKA victim.

iii This is one of the great mysteries of life.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 8 – The Tank Gang_

 **Author's Notes – As requested, the rest of the Tank Gang are introduced in this chapter. Enjoy!**

Gill gradually lost count of the days that he spent inside the tank in Doctor Sherman's dentistry office. Nights faded into days, days gradually drifted into nights. Gill could feel his youth, slowly but exorably, slipping through his fins, as he made his way gradually towards middle age. It was becoming clearer and clearer with each passing day that Doctor Sherman had no intention of releasing him back into his ocean home once more. He had finally recovered from the damage caused by the thick black liquid that William had thought was probably oil, so long ago, but he remained in captivity, with all of his needs being met, save for the need for freedom.

Peach told him about twin female parrotfish, Hope and Faith, who had lived out nearly their entire lives inside the aquarium in Doctor Sherman's dentist surgery. She had told Gill that they had both died of old age, not long before Gill himself had been introduced into the tank. For the first time in his life, Gill was forced to accept the very real possibility that he would eventually grow old and die within this tank, just as the parrotfish had done. But Gill knew that he would not accept that without a fight, so was constantly trying to plan ways of escape. He was pretty sure that he could use the miniature volcano, if not to launch himself out of the window, then to launch himself towards a drain – he remembered learning back in Mr. Elias' home that all drains led to the ocean. And so he would spend much of his time examining the volcano, to see if it could be used in this way. However, there was no way that Peach would be able to launch Gill all the way across the room towards a drain all by herself, and so Gill contented himself with simply thinking about possibilities, planning and plotting his eventual escape from captivity.

Peach made his captivity bearable, as the two of them spent so much time together, grew to understand and love each other in a way unusual for two of such different species. Back in the ocean, different creatures were actively encouraged to be friends with each other, but to be anything more was – no, not forbidden exactly, there was nothing as official as rules within the ocean, it was just that there were things that a fish did, and things that a fish did not do, and one of those things that a fish did not do was form a deep relationship that went beyond friendship with one that was not of his own species.

Indeed, as time passed, Gill wondered if, had Peach and himself been the same species, they would have been mates. It was quite possible, and at times, awkwardly, never quite sure how to bring the topic up, they had agreed that, had things been different between them, had they been the same species, back in the ocean, then it was quite possible that they would have formed that bond.

Had things been different, had Gill not been taken from his ocean home, spirited away, put in this tank – sometimes Gill wondered what would have happened then. Perhaps he would have had a mate by now, children of his own even. There was no point in worrying about what might have been, but sometimes he could not stop himself from wondering.

He also found himself sometimes wondering about what had happened to William, if the old octopus was happy back in the ocean, if he had been able to make a home for himself after being so long in captivity. Gill sometimes wondered if he would be able to locate William once he, finally, found a way out of his confinement and managed to make it back to the ocean once more. But as time passed, he began to wonder if William was still alive. William had been old – or at least had seemed old, when Gill had first met him, and Gill had long since lost count of the number of days that had passed since that fateful day. How long did octopuses – or was it octopi, he never could remember1 - how long did they live? And anyway, it would be difficult to locate any individual within the vastness of the ocean itself, as Gill had no idea where the old octopus had chosen to settle. Still, he hoped that William was happy, wherever he was, and also that Mr. Elias, Sammy and Patch were happy wherever they were, for he knew that he would never forget their care and kindness towards him during his hour of need.

There was little that he could do to help them now, however. Gill spent much of his time within the tank learning to read, as Peach carefully helped him to improve with this ability, until he was almost as proficient at reading as Peach herself. Gill also learned enough about dentistry to make the average graduate of dental school jealous – he didn't particularly _want_ to have this skill, but there was little else to do, trapped, confined within the tank, but watch the dentist operate on patients all the time, so he quickly learned the correct names of the tools that the dentist so frequently used.

Nigel came and visited the dentist's surgery every few days, and sometimes Gill, Peach and Nigel would watch an extraction, making comments and chatting with each other, largely ignored by the humans. As Gill got to know Nigel better, he came to relax more when in the presence of the pelican. It became obvious that predators like pelicans could be friendly, that they also had hopes and dreams, and that they also had rich lives that were not so very different from Gill's own. This had initially seemed quite surprising to Gill, who had thought of predators, in his youth, as simply mindless creatures that had to be avoided, if not actually hated, because of the dangers that they presented to a relatively small and vulnerable fish out in the depths of the ocean.

He saw Darla come to see her uncle from time to time, but took little notice of her; she was just another hyperactive child, as far as he was concerned, and worthy of little time and attention. He would hide inside his plastic skull whenever she came near to the tank, but for the most part, she was simply ignored. One day, Gill's plastic skull was removed, only to be replaced by a similar plastic skull, only this time there was an eyepatch over one of the eyes. But generally, for the most part, life just went on, with very little change.

That was until one fine, sunny morning, just after dawn. As Gill was making his way out of the plastic skull where he had been sleeping, he suddenly saw many different colours; blues, yellows, reds, pinks, oranges, browns – and for a moment, his sleepy mind wondered if he could possibly be back in the ocean once more, surrounded by all of the wondrous colours that he had almost taken for granted in his youth. But, as he blinked away the sleepiness of night, he discovered that more creatures had been placed inside Doctor Sherman's fish tank, and were now curiously looking around their new aquarium home.

A large brown porcupine pufferfish smiled at him, his brown eyes glinting slightly as he caught sight of Gill. Peach nodded towards the pufferfish, and then nodded at Gill. "So, this is the famous Moorish idol you were talking about?" he asked Peach.

Cautiously, Gill swam towards him. "I'm Gill," he said, extending a fin in greeting, "what is your name?"

The pufferfish looked around himself, seemingly suddenly panicked. An orange goldfish gave the fish equivalent of a shrug, as though not knowing what the question actually meant. A yellow tang kept looking around himself distractedly, as though looking for inspiration. A small, red and white Pacific cleaner shrimp looked up from the base of the tank, as though not having a clue about anything that was going on above him.

Gill sighed, "It's not that tough of a question," he muttered, feeling slightly irritated.

A pretty blue and white humbug damselfish kept looking at her reflection, and then looked towards Gill, "I'm Deb," she said extending a friendly fin.

At last, thought Gill, a fish with a bit of sense –

"And this is my sister, Flo," she indicated her reflection, seemingly convinced that this was another fish…

Or perhaps not, thought Gill, rolling his eyes slightly.

Meanwhile, the goldfish had swum towards the miniature treasure chest, at the base of the tank, and was inspecting it. As he lifted the lid, so several bubbles emerged from the chest, floating upwards. The goldfish watched them with mild amusement for a moment, and then…

"Bubbles!" said the yellow tang enthusiastically, swimming towards the treasure chest, and draping himself over it, lovingly, possessively. He gave the slightly confused goldfish a wary look, and then, staring lovingly at the chest once more, as though it was the most precious thing in the world, said: "I love the bubbles!"

"I kind of guessed," muttered Gill, swimming down towards him.

"My Bubbles!" the tang said, holding the chest protectively with both fins, as though trying to keep the precious contents of the chest away from Gill.

Gill gave him a curious look, "Even if I wanted to," he said, carefully watching the tang, "how could I possibly steal your bubbles? Bubbles are just there, you can't really own them."

"You could say that about just about anything," said the goldfish, swimming towards him, "strange how humans are always trying to possess things, most of which were there, unchanged, before they were born, and will remain unchanged when they eventually die," he gave a small chuckle.

Gill eyed him warily, "Okay Mr. Philosopher," he muttered, "so have you any idea why this one," he indicated the yellow tang with his fin, "is so obsessed with keeping these bubbles for himself?"

The goldfish moved slightly closer to the yellow tang, who eyed him carefully, "Why do you want to keep those bubbles for yourself?" asked the goldfish.

Still eyeing the goldfish warily, his body still protectively over the chest, the tang replied, "Bubbles! I love the bubbles!"

The goldfish turned back to Gill, "I think that's about as much as you are going to get," he said philosophically, "he likes bubbles."

Gill gave the fish equivalent of a shrug, and turned back to where Deb had swum down to join them, "You are all most welcome here," Gill said cautiously. "Welcome to the insane aquarium," he muttered to himself.

The orange goldfish chuckled slightly, "It's not just us," he said, pointing to the other side of the tank. There, accompanying the rather confused cleaner shrimp, was an attractive purple and yellow royal gramma fish, shaking slightly as though in fear.

Gill swum towards the pair. "There's nothing to be afraid of here," he tried to sound as reassuring as he could, "you can join the rest of us, if you like."

"Is it clean?" asked the gramma, his voice shaking slightly, "or is this place filled with germs?"

Yep, welcome to the insane aquarium indeed, thought Gill, rolling his eyes. He gave the gramma a reassuring smile, and pointed up to the filter, "See that thing over there?" he asked.

Nervously, the gramma gave the fish equivalent of a nod, looking in the direction indicated.

"That keeps this aquarium clean and safe. I should know, I've lived here for…" Gill paused for a moment, trying to remember, but in truth, he had completely lost count of the amount of days that he had spent inside Doctor Sherman's tank, "a very long time," he finished. "And I look very fit and healthy, don't I?"

The gramma looked him up and down slowly, as though trying to find any indication that he was diseased or infected with germs. Finally, seemingly grudgingly satisfied that Gill indeed was in perfect health, the gramma seemed to relax ever so slightly, "I guess you do," he said uncertainly.

"Bonjour, comment ça va?2

Gill looked down when he heard that. The cleaner shrimp was looking up at him, giving him a friendly if slightly bemused expression. "Um…" said Gill uncertainly, and then looked back at where the gramma was also watching the cleaner shrimp.

"From what I can tell," began the gramma uncertainly, "he can only speak French. He seems keen on keeping this place clean though," he added appreciatively, smiling towards the shrimp.

Gill swam towards the cleaner shrimp, trying desperately to remember the little French that he had heard Mr. Elias reading to Patch. "Uh," he began, " _hablas_ …no that's Spanish, um, er…" he looked up at where the rest of the inhabitants of the tank were now watching him expectantly, as though waiting to see how Gill would deal with this. Gill gave them all a pleading look, "Do any of you speak any French?" he asked.

The rest of the tank's inhabitants exchanged blank looks with each other, making it quite clear that none of them did. Gill sighed, and turned his attention back to the cleaner shrimp, who was still watching him with a kind of polite incomprehension. Gill tried again, "Uh, _un nom, ave vous, un_?"3

The cleaner shrimp continued to look up at him for a while, as though trying to make sense of Gill's less than perfect French. Then he smiled, and pointed towards himself, " _Je m'appelle Jacques_ ,"4 he said.

"Your name is Jacques?" Gill asked.

The cleaner shrimp looked up at him a moment longer, and then replied, " _Oui_ "5.

Gill looked back at the gramma, "He's name's Jacques?" he asked.

The gramma looked at Gill uncertainly, "I guess so," he replied.

"And you, do you have a name?" Gill asked.

"Uh. They never really bothered to name any of the fish at Pet Palace," the gramma replied uncertainly, "I mean, what would be the point when they would be leaving for pet shops and things any minute anyway?"

"That's right," said the pufferfish, swimming towards them, "they don't normally bother with that sort of thing at pet stores, because the fish won't spend much time there. They'll be off to fish tanks and to be children's pets and, well, half of the time fish don't even get named when they are taken to their new homes. Humans don't get so attached to fish as they do to dogs and cats and other land animals. We're just too different. They just like looking at us, though, I think it helps them relax or something."

Gill looked up at where Peach was latched onto the side of the aquarium. In fact, he was not sure that he really liked the idea of sharing his home with these half-crazy newcomers, after he had become so accustomed to spending so long alone with Peach inside the aquarium. But he did his best to try to ignore that feeling – William had welcomed him into his aquarium home, and Peach had done the same, it was only right that Gill should extend the same welcome, the same courtesy, to these newcomers.

"I think that you should all choose a name for yourselves, if you haven't already got one," said Peach, looking at each of the newcomers in turn, "it will make it easier for everyone in the tank to get to know each other if everyone has a name for themselves."

"Uh, I guess I could be Gurgle," the gramma said uncertainly, "that's the noise I made, apparently, when something bad happened in my old tank and it became infected with germs, killing off a lot of the other grammas in there," he gave Gill an uncertain look, "is that a name?" he asked cautiously.

Gill gave him a small smile, and then turned to where the rest of them were looking at him expectantly. As they all continued to stare at him, Gill remembered what he had learnt about initiation rituals while in the tank in Mr. Elias' home. "Humans," he began, "have certain ceremonies and rituals, whereby an initiate is invited to become a member of their group. We can do the same," he pointed towards the volcano, "at the top of Mount Wannahawkaloogie," Gill was quite pleased with the name that he had given to the volcano; it sounded suitably Australian, "we will have an initiation ceremony, whereby you will all be officially welcomed into the tank. Tonight, choose a name that you wish to be your Tank Name, the name that you will have while in this tank -"

"Uh, I'm not sure that I can think of something that important," said the pufferfish uncertainly, "that sounds like a really big decision to make."

Gill gave him a thoughtful look, then gave the fish equivalent of a shrug, "Or if you wish, I will think of a name for you, and you can choose whether you want to keep that name or not," he turned around, so that he was addressing all of the fish within the tank, "Tonight, you will have a proper welcome to this tank, as members of the Tank Gang!" he said.

I am doing well

1Actually, both are correct (although 'octopuses' is more fun to say).

2Good morning, how are you?

3A name, have you, one?

4I am called Jacques

5Yes


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 9 – The Initiation Ceremony_

 **Author's Notes – Glad you liked the previous chapter. It will be a while before Gill gets to meet Nemo, as there is still a lot about his past that has yet to be revealed, including this initiation ceremony. Enjoy!**

"Ha-who-wah-he- _ha_ -ho-ho-ho…"

Gill looked up from where he had been trying to explain to Jacques, with his decidedly limited French, what exactly the little gang were intending to do. Fortunately, Jacques appeared to be one of the saner of these young newcomers, and, although he was apparently not entirely sure of the exact reason for this whole ceremony, he seemed amiable enough to go along with more or less anything if it meant that the little gang were having fun.

"Ha-who-wah-he- _ha_ -ho-ho-ho…" the rest of them were close to the volcano, either by the summit, or on either side of the artificial lava path leading up to it. Gill had insisted upon that; he remembered that many of the initiation ceremonies that he had heard about while living in the tank in Mr. Elias' home had involved ascending to some higher place, to be able to look down from some great height, as the initiate was being metaphorically raised up to be a full-fledged member of a tribe or a group.

"Ha-who-wah-he- _ha_ -ho-ho-ho…" they were pretty good at it, Gill had to admit. They had only spent a little while rehearsing, and now they seemed able to chant in union, never missing a beat…

"Oh, will you not do that, you are disgusting!" that came from the gramma, complaining at the pufferfish.

Gill sighed; it had been going so well up to that point…

"What?" the pufferfish asked, "It's better out than in, you must admit."

"There's a time and a place for that sort of thing, and this is neither," the gramma replied, sounding irritated.

"Ha-who-wah-he- _ha_ -ho-ho-ho…"

"Oh, I'm so excited!" that was Deb, "Aren't you excited Flo? This is the first time either of us have ever taken part in an initiation ceremony." Deb grinned at her reflection, still seemingly convinced that it was her sister. Why? Gill wondered – what could have possibly convinced her that her reflection was another fish? And what would happen if she were ever to find out the truth?

"Ha-who-wah-he- _ha_ -ho-ho-ho…"

"And where's that idol, anyway?" that was the goldfish, "He was the one who wanted to have this ceremony, hadn't he better get it started soon?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Gill muttered, swimming up the imitation lava path of the volcano towards the group of chanting – and complaining – fish. "I was just trying to explain to Jacques what we are doing and why."

"And why are we doing this, exactly?" the goldfish asked.

"It will make it easier for everyone if we all have names, and it will be easier to remember those names if they are given in a welcoming ceremony," Gill explained.

"Not good enough," the goldfish replied, "that might be part of it, but it's more than that, and you know it."

Gill gave him a long, critical look. Clearly the goldfish was one of the brighter and more aware of the young newcomers, and could see further than most. Gill grinned to himself. "You're right," he said quietly, as the chanting continued around him, "do you know the meaning of the word 'kin'?"

"Scottish isn't it?" the goldfish asked, "Means family, if I remember correctly".

"Yes, that's how it's been translated sometimes," Gill replied, "but it means more than that. It's about the ties that someone has to a group, bonds of family, yes, but it's all about loyalty and the importance of being part of the group and everything that it means to be a part of that group. That's what this ceremony is all about, to tie the whole lot of us together in a bond of kinship, and everything that that means, as members of the Tank Gang."

"That's pretty smart," the goldfish admitted.

"Can we get on with this now?" the gramma complained, glaring at the pufferfish, "I'm not sure how long I can stand being next to this disgusting puffer."

"Good idea," Gill replied, ignoring the way that the pufferfish and the royal gramma were glaring at each other, "who would like to go ascend towards the top of Mount Wannahawkaloogie first?"

"I will," said the pufferfish, still glaring at the gramma, "if just to get away from this fish," he added.

"Ties of kin, eh?" asked the goldfish playfully, "Starting well, isn't it?"

"Have you got a better idea?" Gill hissed in response.

The goldfish merely chuckled, picked up a leaf, and swam down to where Peach and Deb (and, Gill supposed, Flo too, technically) were waiting on the route up to the top of the volcano. The goldfish grinned up at him, "I'd better take my place in this ceremony, oh fearless leader," he said, in a way that might or might not have been sarcastic, "just as you'd better take yours. Time for this ceremony of kinship to begin, don't you think?"

"Fine, fine," Gill muttered, then turned his attention to where the pufferfish had swam down to the base of Mount Wannahawkaloogie, and was looking around himself curiously. "Now what?" he asked.

"It's really quite simple," Gill replied, as the chanting continued all around him, "You make your way up the path of lava to the top of this volcano. When you reach the top, we will start the ring of fire," he turned to Jacques momentarily, who saluted him, and then started stepping on the knob at the base of the volcano. This started the ring of fire – in actual fact nothing more dangerous than a lot of bubbles being shot out from the top of the volcano.

"Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!" said the yellow tang excitedly, and probably would have rushed forward to try to obtain his precious bubbles, had not the gramma grabbed him by the tailfin, preventing him from swimming into them.

Gill sighed and turned his attention back to the pufferfish once more, "Then you swim through this ring of fire," he gave Jacques another quick look, and the cleaner shrimp dismounted from the knob, stopping the bubbles from rising out of the top of the volcano. Jacques grinned up at Gill, obviously pleased that he had been able to understand what Gill had wanted, and to have been able to successfully help Gill with his task. Gill returned his smile, then turned his attention back to the pufferfish again, "and that's when you will be welcomed into the Tank Gang, and given your Tank Name," he finished.

"Hmm, seems easy enough," muttered the pufferfish, examining the path of lava.

"Can we get on with this now?" the gramma complained.

The pufferfish glared at him once more, and the goldfish chuckled quietly to himself. Gill wondered briefly how he had managed to get himself into this strange predicament, when all he had ever really wanted was to live out all of his life in the ocean, but quickly turned his attention back to where the pufferfish was slowly making his way up the path of imitation lava, towards the top of Mount Wannahawkaloogie. Gill stifled a sigh, and swam up behind the volcano, so that he would be able to meet the pufferfish when he had reached the summit. In the meantime, the goldfish, Peach and Deb (and Flo?) had been fanning the pufferfish with the imitation leafs that they had decided to use for this very purpose.

"Ha-who-wah-he- _ha_ -ho-ho-ho…"

The chanting continued on all around the pufferfish, as he slowly swam up. The gramma and the yellow tang were waiting at the top of the volcano, and a moment later were joined by Deb (and Flo?). When the pufferfish finally reached the summit, he looked around momentarily, as though wondering what he was supposed to do next.

Slowly, Gill emerged from behind the volcano, and nodded once to the pufferfish. Then, a moment later, he reached out with his fins, and the chanting suddenly stopped.

"Quite impressive, oh fearless one," said the goldfish, grinning up at him, "so what is he supposed to do now?"

"You'll see," Gill replied, then turned his attention back to the pufferfish once more, "Oh pufferfish, newcomer of brown spikes," Gill began, secretly relishing in a chance to show off to these young newcomers, "you have been called forth to the top of Mount Wannahawkaloogie to join with us in the fraternal bonds of Tankhood!"

"I thought he was being called first, not fourth!" quipped the goldfish, swimming up behind Gill and brandishing a rather large green leaf, and chuckling quietly to himself.

"Oh very funny," muttered Gill, then turned his attention back to the pufferfish again, "That is," he added, in a much louder voice, "if you can swim through," he paused for dramatic effect, "The ring of fire!"

Nothing happened. Gill sighed. He looked down at where Jacques was staring up at him, "Ahem," he said, staring at Jacques, "the ring of fire, please Jacques, can you start it now?"

Jacques merely stared up at him, blinking in good-natured incomprehension. "I'll go and help him," the gramma sighed, and swam down towards the cleaner shrimp. There was a brief whispered conversation that Gill didn't hear clearly, and then the cleaner shrimp got back on the knob and started the bubbles ascending from the volcano once more.

"Finally," muttered Gill, and then turned back to where the pufferfish was watching him with a slightly bemused expression. "Right, now you swim through the ring of fire," he said.

"You mean all of these bubbles?" the pufferfish asked.

"Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!" the yellow tang said excitedly, and would have swam into the middle of the bubbles coming out of the volcano, if Deb had not held him back, preventing him from doing so.

"I wish you hadn't said that word," muttered Gill to the pufferfish, then added, in a much louder voice, "Yes, you swim through all of this, to the other side of the volcano, where I will give you your Tank Name."

"Sounds easy enough," said the pufferfish. Then he swam through the bubbles, and bumped into Gill on the other side.

Gill turned to where the whole gang were now watching them, "From this day forward," he proclaimed, indicating the pufferfish, "you are now a member of the Tank Gang. Now is the time for you to be given your Tank Name. Do you have a Tank Name prepared, or would you like me to give you your Tank Name now, in front of all of your kin?"

The pufferfish looked around briefly. With a bit of nudging from the gramma, the cleaner shrimp had dismounted from the knob at the base of the volcano, Deb was chatting to her reflection, and the goldfish was watching Gill intently. The pufferfish seemed at a loss for inspiration concerning what sort of Tank Name he should choose, and so turned his attention back to Gill once more, and gave the fish equivalent of a shrug. "You choose," he said.

Gill smiled at him, and then turned to face where the rest of them were looking at him, "From this day forward, you will now be known as Bloat. Welcome Brother Bloat!"

"Bloat, boo ha ha!" came the background chanting.

"Heh, that was sort of fun," said the newly christened Bloat, "can I do the next one?"

"I don't see why not," said Gill, but decided he had better stay close, just in case. Gill then turned to the rest of the little gang, "Okay, who wants to go next?" he asked.

"I'll go," said the goldfish, and positioned himself at the base of the volcano, before making his way up the path of imitation lava.

"Ha-who-wah-he- _ha_ -ho-ho-ho…" came the chanting from the gang, as the goldfish slowly made his way up to the summit of Mount Wannahawkaloogie.

When he reached the top, Bloat looked towards Gill, "Can I do it now?" he asked, with barely contained excitement in his voice.

Gill gave the fish equivalent of a nod, "Of course," he said.

Bloat turned back to the goldfish, who was watching him with mild amusement. Bloat took a deep breath, then paused, "What was it again?" he whispered to Gill.

Gill sighed, "Summoned to the top of Mount Wannahawkaloogie," he whispered back.

"Oh, yeah, thanks," muttered Bloat, and then turned his attention back to the slightly amused goldfish, "Welcome, little goldfish, newcomer of orange and um…orange!" he said, extending his fins in an exaggerated motion, then added in a much louder voice, "You have been called forth to the summit of Mount Wannahawkaloogie, to join with us in the fraternal bonds…of Tankhood!" Then he gave Gill a sideways look, "How was that?" he whispered, as though desperate for approval."

"Not half bad," said Gill approvingly, "you're a natural at this, Brother Bloat."

Literally swelling with pride upon hearing this, Bloat inflated, and then turned back to the grinning goldfish, "If…" he continued, very loudly, "you can swim through…the ring of fire!"

This time Jacques was ready, and the bubbles from the top of volcano appeared almost instantly. Deb had been ready, this time, to grab the yellow tang's tailfins before he could to swim into the rising bubbles.

The goldfish swam through these bubbles, coming to a stop a mere inch in front of Bloat. Bloat turned to where Gill had been watching him approvingly. "Um…what do I do now?" he whispered.

"I'll take over from here, if you like," Gill whispered back, and then turned his attention to where the goldfish was watching him intently. "From this day forward," he began, "you are now a member of the Tank Gang. Now is the time for you to be given your Tank Name. Have you decided upon a Tank Name, or would you prefer me to give you your Tank Name at this initiation ceremony?" he asked.

"You choose," the goldfish replied, staring intently at Gill.

Gill turned towards the rest of the little gang, "From this day forward," he began, "you will now be known as Chuckles. Welcome Brother Chuckles!"

"Chuckles, boo ha ha!" came the chanting from the assembled creatures.

"Okay, who's next?" asked Gill.

"Oh this is so exciting!" gushed Deb, "Are you excited, Flo?" she asked, staring at her reflection, which, unsurprisingly, did not respond.

"How about you, Deb?" Gill asked her.

"Well, only if Flo can go with me," she began, "and I have to admit, we both kind of like the names we already have. Can we keep them as Tank Names, please?"

"Of course," Gill replied, "the whole purpose of this ceremony is to welcome you as members of our little group. You can keep the name…er, names," he corrected quickly, "that you are used to, if you like."

"Oh that is so kind of you!" Deb gushed, "Flo, thank the nice idol for being so kind to us, why don't you?" Deb turned her attention towards her reflection, and Gill did the same.

Now what am I supposed to do, Gill wondered; it's not as if I can shake fins with a reflection!

Fortunately, Deb came to his rescue, giving Gill a slightly apologetic smile, "Oh don't mind her, she's nuts," she said, laughing, "and she can be really shy around larger fish." Deb turned her attention back to her reflection, raised an admonishing fin, and said, "That was so rude, Flo, you should be more polite to this nice leader fish!"

"Perhaps we should get on with the ceremony now," suggested Gill, quickly, before Deb started to have a row with her own reflection.

"Yes, yes of course," said Deb, giving her reflection a quick, disapproving look, before turning back to Gill and smiling at him, "we just go along this lava path, right, then you welcome us at the top of the volcano with the funny name, is that right."

"It's that simple," Gill replied.

Deb swam to the base of the volcano. The gramma took her place on the route up the volcano's lava path, and joined Peach in fanning her with the broad leaf. Deb could barely contain her excitement as she made her way past them. As she reached the top of the volcano, Bloat turned to Gill, "Can I do another one?" he asked excitedly, "please?"

"Brother Bloat," Gill replied, managing to keep his own enthusiasm in check, "you may now proceed."

Bloat turned back to Deb, "Welcome, sisters of blue and of white!" he said, very loudly, "You have been called forth to join with us in the fraternal bond…" he turned to Gill and gave him a slightly worried look, whispering from the side of his mouth, "wait, should that be sisterly bond?"

"Brotherly bond is fine," Gill whispered back.

It did not seem as if Deb was paying that much attention to what Bloat was saying, anyway. Instead, she had started to discuss with her reflection how very excited she was to be taking part in this ceremony. Bloat stared at her for a moment, until she returned her attention back to him once more. "A-hem!" he began, "As I was saying, you have been called forth to join with us in the fraternal bonds…of Tankhood!" he raised his fin up in an exaggerated gesture.

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Deb gushed. She turned to her reflection, "Oh, Flo, isn't this exciting," she said.

"As I was saying," Bloat continued, "that is if you can swim through…the ring of fire!"

A dramatic pause, and then Jacques worked the knob on the volcano, leading to bubbles ascending from the summit of the volcano once more.

"Bubbles! Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!" the yellow tang said excitedly. And this time, without Deb or the gramma to hold him back, he rushed into the stream of bubbles, reaching Bloat and Gill on the other side of the volcano, before Deb had a chance to swim through the bubbles herself. Bloat and Gill exchanged looks with each other; Deb went back to discussing how exciting this was with her reflection. Gill stifled a sigh with some difficultly, gave the fish equivalent of a shrug, and turned to the yellow tang, "Stranger, newcomer of bright yellow," he began, as Bloat held the tang back from swimming through the bubbles once more, "you have been called forth to the summit of Mount Wannahawkaloogie to join with us in the fraternal bonds, of Tankhood. Having swum through the ring of fire, now you will be given your Tank Name. Have you chosen a Tank Name for yourself, or would you prefer me to give you your Tank Name now, at this initiation ceremony?"

"Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles bubbles!" the yellow tang gushed, reaching out towards the top of the volcano, where bubbles were still ascending out of the summit of Mount Wannahawkaloogie.

Gill stifled another sigh; well, why not? He turned back to the rest of the creatures within the tank, who were watching him curiously, many of them trying to stifle laughter behind their fins. Gill pointed with his own fin towards the yellow tang, "From this moment onwards, you will now be known as…Bubbles!" he said.

"Bubbles, boo ha ha!" came the sound of chanting once more.

"Oh, is that my name now?" asked the yellow tang, looking around himself with some confusion.

"Would you like it to be?" Gill asked, "Would you like Bubbles to be your Tank Name?"

"Yes, I would," said the yellow tang decisively, "I love the bubbles!" he added again.

"I thought you might," Gill muttered.

"Can I swim through the bubbles yet?" Deb asked, "Only Flo is getting rather impatient."

Gill turned his attention back to where Deb was waiting at the summit of Mount Wannahawkaloogie. He smiled at her, "Of course," he began, "and thank you for your patience." He turned to where Bloat was still trying to hold onto the newly christened Bubbles, preventing him from swimming back through his precious bubbles once more. "Brother Bloat," said Gill, trying to ignore the yellow tang's feeble protests to let him go back into the bubbles, "you may now proceed with the initiation ceremony."

"Right, yeah, um, where were we?" he asked. "Oh yeah, that's it," he said quietly, then in a much louder voice, "If you can swim through…the ring of fire!"

"Oh, I am so looking forward to this. Here I go!" Deb swam through the bubbles, bumping into Gill on the other side, "Oh I am so sorry," she said, then turned to her reflection, "Oh that was so embarrassing!" she said quietly.

"State your name," Gill said, in a low and ever so slightly menacing tone of voice.

Deb turned her attention away from her reflection suddenly upon hearing his tone, "Oh, um yes. Deb. And this is Flo," she said, pointing towards her reflection, "and we'd both like to keep our own names as Tank Names, if you don't mind, Mr. Initiation Ceremony Fish."

"As requested, Deb and Flo will from this day forward be known by those names, as members of the Tank Gang," said Gill turning around and addressing all of the inhabitants of the tank, "as the rivers ebb and flow, so Deb and Flo shall now be welcomed in the fraternal bonds of Tankhood, by all gathered here."

"Deb and Flo, boo ha ha!" came the response.

"Um, Mr. Gill," said the gramma uncertainly, "can Jacques and I also go together, please? I'm not sure that he understands enough of what is going on to be able to go up by himself."

"That's very thoughtful of you," said Gill approvingly, "you two can go next."

With that, the gramma swam down to the base of the volcano. Chuckles the goldfish took over Jacques' role of turning the knob, thereby releasing bubbles from the top of the volcano, and Jacques and the gramma then made their way up the lava path towards the summit. As they reached the top, Gill indicated for Bloat to take on his role as Brother Bloat once more.

"Newcomer of red and white," Bloat said, indicating the cleaner shrimp, "you have been called forth to the top of Mount Wannahawkaloogie, to join with us in the fraternal bonds, of Tankhood." He paused for dramatic effect, "If you can swim through…" another dramatic pause, "the ring of fire!"

Chuckles started the bubbles again. The gramma indicated for the cleaner shrimp to swim through them, which he did, nearly bumping into Gill as he reached the other side. " _Indiques vous nom, mon ami1_ " Gill said carefully, not at all sure that that was grammatically correct French.

After a moment, Jacques replied " _Je m'appelle Jacques_ "2

"Jacques, from this day forward, that will be your Tank Name," said Gill, turning around and addressing the rest of the inhabitants of the tank, "and we all welcome you in the fraternal bonds of Tankhood."

"Jacques boo ha ha!" was chanted from the rest of the little gang.

"Now me, right?" the gramma asked uncertainly, "are you sure that this is safe and free of germs?"

"It is perfectly safe," Gill replied calmly, "see all of your friends who have already swum through these bubbles."

"Can I do the ceremony bit now?" Bloat asked excitedly. It seemed to Gill that the pufferfish would never tire of his role as Brother Bloat.

"Please proceed once more," Gill said, giving him the fish equivalent of a nod.

Bloat turned to where the gramma was watching the bubbles somewhat warily, as though expecting them to burst forth with germs at any moment. But Bloat was clearly enjoying his role within this initiation ceremony too much to worry about the gramma's uncertainty. "Newcomer of purple and yellow," he began, clearly relishing every moment of what he was doing, "you have been summoned forth to the top of Mount Wannahawkaloogie, to join with us in the fraternal bonds," he paused for dramatic effect at this point, "of Tankhood."

"You really do like over-acting, don't you 'Brother Bloat'" muttered the gramma.

Bloat merely grinned at him in response, "If you can swim through," he paused, and raised his fin in a dramatic gesture, "the ring of fire!"

"Yes, yes, just like everyone else in this tank," muttered the gramma, swimming through the bubbles and stopping just before he bumped into Gill.

"From this day forward, you will now be a member of the Tank Gang. At this initiation ceremony, you will be given your Tank Name, for you to have and to use all of the days that you remain within this tank," Gill said to the gramma, "have you decided on a Tank Name for yourself, or would you prefer me to give you your Tank Name?"

"I'll stick with Gurgle, if it's all the same to you," the gramma replied, "I can't seem to think of anything else, and Gurgle will do."

Gill turned to the assembled creatures within the tank, and indicated the gramma, "From this day forward, you will now be known as Gurgle!" he said, "Welcome Brother Gurgle!"

"Gurgle, boo ha ha!" came the chant from the rest of the inhabitants of the tank.

"Right, who's left?" Gill asked, looking around.

"Just me, I guess," said Peach, "can you help me up the volcano?"

Gill swam down to the base of the volcano, followed by Jacques, who took up his role on the knob at the base of the volcano once more. Chuckles the goldfish swam up to the top of the volcano, joining Bloat, Deb, and Bubbles.

Gill helped Peach to ascend to the top of the volcano, where Bloat was waiting for them at the summit. Gill gave him a small smile, an indication for him to proceed. "Newcomer…just a moment, she isn't really a newcomer, is she?" he said, "I mean, she's been here the longest of all of us."

"Would you like me to take over for a bit?" Gill asked.

Bloat gave him a grateful smile, as Gill swam over to him, taking up his role as leader of the initiation ceremony once more. He reached out a fin towards Peach, "Peach," he said, very quietly, "my dearest friend…"

There was a general sniggering from the rest of the newly christened Tank Gang. Gill rolled his eyes at that, then turned his attention back to Peach once more. In a much louder, clearer voice, he said, "You have been called forth the top of Mount Wannahawkaloogie to join with us in the fraternal bonds of Tankhood."

"Can I do the next bit?" Bloat asked excitedly, "I really like doing the next bit."

Gill chuckled quietly to himself, amused by Bloat's youthful exuberance, "Brother Bloat," he said, turning his attention to the pufferfish with an exaggerated gesture, "please proceed."

"Ooh good!" grinned Bloat, then focused his attention on Peach. He took a deep breath, "If you can swim through," a dramatic pause; he was really very good at those, "the ring…of fire!"

Jacques started up the bubbles once more. Gill helped Peach across. "State your name," he said.

Peach laughed quietly to herself, "I will keep Peach, if that is okay with you," she replied.

Gill then held her up like a trophy on his left fin, and turned to the rest of the little gang, "As the world turns, as night fades to day, you are most welcome to join with us in the fraternal bonds of Tankhood!" he said.

"I wanted to do that part," Bloat muttered quietly to himself.

"Peach, boo ha ha!" came the chanting from the Tank Gang.

"Oh, that was fun," said Bloat, "I like being master of ceremonies."

"Glad you enjoyed yourself," Gill said to him, and then turned his attention back to the rest of the Tank Gang, "That goes for all of you, but all good things must come to an end…"

"Oh, it's not over yet, oh fearless leader," said the recently christened Chuckles, coming up behind him, "there's still you to do.

Gill rolled his eyes, "Well, if you insist," he said, and began to swim down to the base of the volcano, only to be stopped by Gurgle.

"We've made something for you," the gramma said, sounding rather nervous.

Gill gave him a long look, and felt just a tiny amount of trepidation; these young newcomers were not exactly the sanest of creatures, and he was not sure that he really wanted to receive gifts from them. "Um…you have?" he asked cautiously.

Gurgle smiled at Chuckles, and the gold fish reached behind the volcano. He picked something up in his fins, and then swum towards Gill, "We made this for you," he said.

Gill took it, and examined it carefully. It seemed to be some kind of headdress, a crown woven from the plastic plants within the tank, and with three small yellow flowers on it. "Um…thank you," said Gill uncertainly.

"I remember what you told us about humans," said Peach, taking the crown from Gill's unresisting fins for just a moment, "how they have leaders, kings and chieftains, people chosen to lead and guide other people, to help and aid them to become all that they are capable of becoming. We," she indicated all of the Tank Gang, who were now gathered around them, "all of us, have decided that you should be our leader," she gave Gill a small, enigmatic smile, "we all decided that there could be no-one better for this task. And leaders so often have some form of dress or headdress to mark their position. So we made this crown for you, so that, at this welcoming ceremony, you can be crowned leader of the Tank Gang." With that, she placed the crown on top of Gill.

"Gill, boo ha ha!" came the response from the rest of the Tank Gang.

Gill smiled at Peach, slowly removed the crown, and looked down at it, examining it carefully. Although it was not particularly well-made, it was clear that a lot of time and effort had been put into weaving it. Gill suddenly felt a huge amount of affection towards all of the Tank Gang. He looked up and smiled at them, for once unsure of what to say.

"Well, say something," Chuckles prompted, grinning at him.

"Thank you," said Gill quietly, sincerely. He looked up at where they were all gathered around him, clearly expecting more of a speech. "This is an unexpected honour. I humbly accept this honour, and hope that I can prove myself to be worthy of it."

There was general cheering and merriment at that. The newcomers, the younger ones, started playing games and enjoying calling each other by their Tank Names. Gill watched them for a while, and then, seeing that he did not appear to be needed for the moment, took the crown back to his plastic skull. It was only when he had placed it carefully inside that he noticed that Peach had been following him. He looked out of the eye-socket of the skull, at where an impromptu party was taking place. I'm part of them, he thought to himself, but I think I'll also always in a sense be apart from them. They've lived in captivity all of their lives, have never felt the ocean currents lift their fins. But someday I'll show them all the wonders that the ocean has to offer.

Peach smiled as she peered into the skull, "They all worked on the crown," she said, "took them ages, but they all want you to be their leader."

"I just hope that I'm able to live up to their expectations," Gill replied.

1 State you name, my friend

2 My name is Jacques


	11. Chapter 11

**StAuthor's Notes - You want to see Chuckles die and Gill get seriously hurt?! I hope this is not because you dislike these characters. However, if you really do want to learn how Gill lost his fin in his first escape plan, then this is the chapter for you…**

 _Chapter 10 – The Escape Plan_

"A little to the right next time," said Gill, surveying the bubble volcano. It had been a week since the initiation ceremony, when the Tank Gang had each been individually invited to join their little group, possibly the strangest family in the southern hemisphere, but a family nonetheless. Gill had spent much of that time teaching the younger ones about the wonders and the dangers of the ocean, and they had listened with rapt interest to his tales – although he often suspected that they thought that he was exaggerating, they nevertheless seemed to enjoy the stories. Peach had spent the past few days teaching them how to read human, and they were, gradually, developing this skill in literacy. They were also gradually learning all that there was to know about dentistry, from Doctor Sherman and his many patients. They often argued about the procedures and the tools that he employed. Gill generally did not get involved in their arguments, and refused to take sides even when asked to do so.

Although there was no question that the newly christened Tang Gang's habit of constantly arguing with each other could be annoying, Gill nevertheless found himself feeling increasingly fond of these young newcomers, who were as innocent and guileless as children, completely lacking in evil intent, and seemingly unable to comprehend that anyone could ever be intentionally cruel. Sometimes Gill remembered what he had heard while in Mr. Elias' aquarium; stories of humans doing all sorts of horrible things to their own kind – never mind what they did to the other creatures who shared their planet – and felt a certain shudder at the thought of these innocent young Tank Gang members having to experience such cruelty for themselves.

For the moment, at least, they could continue in their innocence. Doctor Sherman at times seemed almost as crazy as the younger ones themselves – and as equally lacking in evil intent. As Gill had been watching him, so a plan for escaping the tank, using the bubble volcano, had been gradually forming in his mind, and now Gill had decided to put his plan into action. Peach had taken the role of lookout – she knew Doctor Sherman's ways better than anyone did, and Gill trusted her completely. The dentist had taken his niece, Darla, across the road to get an ice cream, since he had a few minutes to spare before his next patient was due to arrive.

Which meant that the Tank Gang had a few minutes to put their plan into action. Gill had placed a flower in the top of the volcano. Bloat was still at the base, bloated up, and the volcano was tilted towards the open door that led to the toilet – and an escape route to the open ocean. Gill grinned, and indicated for Jacques to tread on the knob at the base of the volcano. The cleaner shrimp saluted, and got onto the knob. Jacques and Gurgle had been teaching each other their own languages, and although Gurgle had barely managed to pick up more than three or four phrases of French, Jacques seemed to be picking up the language of the rest of the Tank Gang with relative ease. Despite this, the cleaner shrimp still spoke French most of the time, since, according to Gurgle, Jacques did not feel confident enough in his second language to speak more than a few words to anyone else. Gill approved of the friendship that was developing between the royal gramma and the cleaner shrimp, and the skills that they were gradually learning from each other.

Yet the rest of the Tank Gang argued constantly – it always seemed strange to Gill what they found to argue about, when inside a box no bigger than a whale shark – but somehow they managed it. To be fair, Jacques did not seem to argue that much with the others – but Gill was convinced that that was simply because he did not know what they were saying half of the time. Deb even managed to argue with her reflection – Gill had often wondered how she managed that. But it was Gurgle and Bloat who argued the most – they just could not seem to agree on anything, and their arguments usually led to Bloat inflating, and one of the others, feeling resigned, deflating him. Maybe it was because they were trapped inside such a relatively small space – cabin fever, Gill thought it was called, when, trapped inside some confined space, creatures found themselves constantly getting on each other's nerves, due to this lack of freedom and ability to move around. Gill sometimes wondered if the Tank Gang ever truly stopped arguing with each other – or if they existed in a state of 'pre-argument' just waiting to annoy each other. It seemed to Gill that their arguments simply merged into each other, with one argument quickly forgotten when they found a new topic to argue about.

Still, for the moment at least, the Tank Gang had stopped arguing with each other. Bloat looked up from the base of the volcano, and Gill smiled back down at him, glad of the pufferfish's presence, because Bloat needed to be inflated for Gill's plan to work. It had taken some time, and quite a few tries, but they had finally managed to get the volcano pointed in the right direction. Gill watched with satisfaction as the flower was shot out of the top of the volcano, sailed through the air, and came to land inside the toilet. There were three other flowers around the toilet, from the previous attempts, and the Tank Gang's gradual improvement in getting the direction just right. Now, at last, they had managed to get it so that the trajectory was perfect – it was time.

"Are you sure about this?" Gurgle asked uncertainly, as Gill placed himself in the top of the volcano, "This seems kind of dangerous to me."

"Hey, Gill's our leader, if he says that it's safe, then I trust that he's telling the truth," Bloat replied.

"Well it's not as if he's done this before, so how can he actually know-" Gurgle began.

"What I want to know is," said Chuckles, interrupting the gramma and the pufferfish before they had yet another row, "what's so important about getting out of here, anyway?" He turned his attention to where Gill was watching him warily, "Why are you so desperate to go back to the dangers of ocean, when we have everything that we need here, and it's safe?" Chuckles asked.

"If you'd ever seen the ocean with your own eyes, you would not ask that question," Gill replied quietly, "yes there are dangers out there, but the danger is all part of it. It's about being completely alive, in a way that I don't think you can understand, unless you have actually seen it." He thought about the story he had heard, back in Mr. Elias' aquarium, about humans on board a spaceship – they had everything that they needed to survive, but they were not having new experiences, were not growing and developing or changing – were not living. It was like that in the tank. "We have everything that we need to survive here, but it's not enough, at least not for me," he told Chuckles quietly, "I need to live, and the only place that I can ever truly live is back in the ocean where I was born." He looked down at where Gurgle still looked worried, and gave him a reassuring smile, "Don't worry about me, I know how to handle the dangers that are a part of life in the ocean," he said.

"That's not what I'm worried about," the gramma replied, "although, now that you mention it, that's also something that could hurt you. It's this plan of yours." He indicated the volcano, "Are you sure that this thing is safe?"

"It's fine," said Gill dismissively, "and it's pointed in the right direction, we tried it with all of those flowers until we got it just right."

"Yeah, maybe," said Chuckles, giving Gill a slightly uncertain look, "but if it really is as safe as you say it is, why won't you let one of us try it first?"

Gill stared at him for a long moment. It was almost as if Chuckles could read his thoughts sometimes. And Gill had to admit that he was a bit worried about using the bubble volcano in this way. If something were to go wrong, then it was only right that he should be the one to suffer the consequences – after all, he was their leader. He thought about his crown, hidden within his plastic skull – every time the Tank Gang annoyed him he thought about that crown, thought of all the effort that must have gone into making it, thought of how much they trusted him. Although he did not want to admit it, Gurgle and Chuckles did have a point – this plan was potentially dangerous. And if he were to allow one of the others to take his place, then he would not be a leader at all, just a bully that allowed others to take risks for him, to further his own goals – and Gill had sworn to himself that he would never let that happen. "Well," he began, looking around at where the Tank Gang were watching him, "none of you have ever been in the ocean before, you don't know how to deal with the dangers that are within it. I do. So it only makes sense that I should be the one to do this." Gill gave a small sigh of relief – that was the truth – Gill had never lied to the Tank Gang, and did not intend to – but that did not mean that it was the main reason.

"I still say that this is too dangerous," Gurgle said, before Chuckles had a chance to reply to Gill.

"That's because you're a coward," Bloat retorted to Gurgle.

"And proud of it!" Gurgle replied, "I'll live longer."

"You're not exactly living when you are afraid of everything," Bloat replied.

"I really think we should be getting on with the escape plan," said Peach quickly, before the gramma and the pufferfish got into yet another argument, "the dentist will be returning soon."

Gill quickly glanced towards the window – sure enough, Doctor Sherman and his niece Darla were on their way back to the dentist surgery, both of them eating ice cream, and laughing happily with each other. Gill turned his attention back to Peach, "You are right, we're going to have to do this now, before the boss returns," he said.

"Any objections?" Bloat demanded, glaring at Gurgle from the base of the bubble volcano, where he was still inflated.

Gurgle crossed his fins, and glared back, then turned his attention towards Gill, "If you get yourself killed, don't come swimming to me," he said.

Gill could not stop himself from smiling at that – it was clear that the gramma was trying to hide his concern for him behind his irritation. "I promise," he said, "but we really need to get on with this now. And don't worry about me," Gill added, "once I'm back in the ocean, I'll get Nigel to come and tell you all about how I'm doing, and I'll find a way to get you all to come and join me, back where fish belong in the ocean."

"Well, if you are sure that this is safe," said Gurgle uncertainly.

Gill turned to where Jacques was staring up at him from the knob at the base of the volcano. Gill grinned back at him, "Ring of Fire!" he said, indicating that it was time for the volcano to shoot him across the room.

Gill took a deep breath, and a moment later, was sailing through the air, in the direction of the toilet...

It was a good plan; carefully thought out and well reasoned, but even the best plans often overlook small but significant details. Gill weighed much more than the flowers – however, within the water, this difference in weight would hardly be significant over such a short distance. But in the air...

It was becoming obvious to Gill that he was not going to land anywhere near the toilet, that he was instead going to land close to the spit-sink. Well, that wasn't so bad, Gill told himself – he could improvise his plan, and use that sink in order to make his way back to the ocean – all drains eventually led back to the ocean after all...

Gill landed on a flat surface, not far from the spit sink.

He landed on something very sharp. Something that was cutting into his right fin. He looked down at where a red rose of paid was starting to become unbearable on his right side.

Blood was pooling all around him. In panic, Gill tried to move, to get away from whatever it might be that was cutting into his side and making him bleed.

This only made the pain worse. As he thrashed around, panicking, it was all he could do to prevent himself from crying aloud with pain and frustration. He looked down at his right side, at his right fin...

At where his right fin had been. His thrashing had cut the fin off from his side, leaving only the useless, jagged remains of his right fin still attached to his body, and the fin itself lying on the little table by Gill's side.

He could hear worried shouting from the Tank Gang – they're panicking just as much as I am, Gill realised. I hope they won't do anything stupid...

"I'm going to go over there and do what I can to stop the bleeding," Peach told the others – Gill could see her, through the haze of pain, getting herself into the top of the volcano, "shoot me over there, and I'll see what I can do to mend his fin."

"No, don't!" Gill cried out to her, "If something happens to me, the younger ones will need you to help and to guide them. You know they won't be able to manage by themselves."

Peach looked worried and uncertain, doubtlessly because she wanted to help Gill, but knew that he was also right. Gill tried to smile despite the almost unbearable pain in his side, "Look, I'll be fine," he assured her. At that moment, out of the window, he could see the dentist returning. Giving a sigh of relief, he turned his attention back to where Peach was still in the top of the volcano, wearing an uncertain expression. "I'll be fine," Gill repeated, "the boss is coming back now, he will know what to do. Don't worry."

Peach looked out of the window, and gave a sigh of relief. A moment later, Doctor Sherman did indeed enter the dentist's office. He looked around for an instant, and then saw Gill, thrashing around on the small table, and gasping for breath, due to being outside of the water. Doctor Sherman walked over to him, and picked him up. "Well now," he said, holding Gill up to eye level, as the Tank Gang worriedly looked on, "how did you get out here, little fella?" He examined Gill's side, and frowned, "That's a nasty injury you have there," he said, taking Gill over to the larger sink. He began to wash the blood off of Gill's side. For a moment, Gill considered trying to escape down the sink – but the pain in his side made it too difficult to contemplate doing anything except resting. Besides, the others would be really worried if he tried to escape now, in his injured state; there was a time and a place to make escape plans, and this was neither. Instead, he simply enjoyed the feeling of the blessedly cool water being poured over his right side, where his fin had been until so very recently.

The dentist then took Gill back over to the tank, where the Tank Gang were still watching him worriedly. Doctor Sherman smiled as he released Gill back into the aquarium once more. "There you go, little fella," he said, "back where you belong. The salt water should help that injury of yours to heal."

Gill looked up at Doctor Sherman, and sighed. I don't belong in a tank, he thought. I'll never belong in an aquarium. Why don't humans realise that the only place my kind belong is back in the ocean? He turned around, awkwardly, due to the damage on his right side, and stared at the Tank Gang. They were staring back at him, worry, concern, and no small amount of pity in their eyes.

It was almost more than Gill could bear, them staring at him, pitying him. He shook himself slightly, trying to get his balance with some difficulty. "I…" he began.

"Gill, I really think…" Peach began.

"I just need to rest for a bit," Gill said, "to rest and to heal." Without another word, without looking back at the rest of the Tank Gang, he made his way to the sanctuary of his plastic skull.


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter 11 – Secrets and Scars_

 **Author's Notes – Glad you like these characters – I've tried to keep them likable, while providing drama, excitement and action (as well as a little bit of humour at times). I hope that this chapter does not disappoint. As always, any and all comments are appreciated.**

"So how long is he going to sulk inside his skull?" It was Gurgle's voice, and the gramma sounded irritated. Gill yawned, and opened his eyes, then peeked out of the eye-socket of the plastic skull. The Tank Gang were gathered around the volcano – it seemed to have become an unofficial meeting place – and were clearly talking about Gill. Gill sighed, and shook himself slightly – he did not want to meet up with them, not yet, the memory of the pity in their eyes from the previous day was almost too much to bear – besides he felt really tired.

This was, all things considered, not surprising. Despite what he had told the little Gang, about needing to rest in order to heal, he had been unable to get even a moment's sleep the previous night. The pain in his side had been distracting, although the salt water within the tank seemed to be gradually healing it. More than that, however, was the sense of shame, of having injured himself so foolishly, of having not thought his plan through carefully, having not considered every eventuality. Of having to face Gurgle and Chuckles, knowing that they had been right, but that he had been too stubborn, to proud, to listen to their quite reasonable objections. Gill shuddered at the thought. So Gill had, in the midnight darkness, ventured out of the safety of the skull, and attempted to swim straight towards the bubble volcano. This had been hard. Whereas he could generally ignore the pain in his side, his sense of balance had been affected, and he found that he needed to lean to the side in order to compensate for his damaged right fin, needed to move his left fin and tail fin very fast in order to compensate for the damage on his right side. It was humiliating, trying to swim up the volcano, while leaning to one side, his left fin moving very fast, and still being unable to reach the summit of the volcano without needing to stop and try to get his breath back. But, at least, attempting this in the silence, in the dark of midnight, he was not being watched by the pitying eyes of the Tank Gang – better to practice alone than to be watched while he swam so erratically.

Inevitably, his midnight exertion had left him feeling very tired. Too tired to feel like getting up and out of his skull, although he could see daylight flooding through the eye-socket. Gill sighed to himself – well, he had told the others that he intended to rest in order to heal, surely it would be okay to spend just a little while longer resting inside his skull.

"I don't think he's sulking," that was Peach's voice, "I just think that he needs a little while to try and rest and recuperate. You saw what happened to his fin, and his side, it's no wonder he wants a bit of time to heal right now."

"Yeah, maybe," replied Chuckles sceptically, "but we're supposed to be a team, a gang, kin, he said so himself. If one of us needs help, then the others should be there to help him, or her. Isn't that what that whole initiation ceremony was all about?"

"I'm not sure that there is much that we could have done," that was Deb's voice, "I've talked to Flo a lot about this, and she doesn't know what we could have done to help Gill, either."

There was a moment of awkward silence, as though several creatures were considering how to approach a difficult topic. Finally, Gurgle said, very hesitantly, "Um, Deb, uh, about Flo, there's something that-"

"This is not the time to worry about that," Bloat interrupted, "it's Gill we were all talking about, and he's our more immediate concern right now."

"Right," said Chuckles, "and I for one am not going to just swim around here arguing – we do too much of that, if you ask me, and not enough actual doing. So I'm going to talk to our beloved leader, whether or not he wants to."

"I'm really not sure that that's such a good idea…" Gurgle began.

"No probably not," Chuckles sighed, "but the sooner we talk to him, the better, rather than just leaving this. You of all fish should know."

Gill frowned slightly upon hearing that, wondering what Chuckles was talking about. But the next minute, the goldish appeared at the eye-socket of his skull, grinning in a rather annoying manner. "Knock, knock," Chuckles said.

Gill rolled his eyes, "Who's there?" he asked, and then glared at Chuckles.

"You should know; you were the one who named me," Chuckles replied, "Chuckles."

Gill sighed, "Chuckles who?" he asked.

"Chuckles who is going to get you out of your skull and back to being our beloved leader once more," the goldfish replied.

"Chuckles who doesn't know how knock knock jokes work," Gill said.

Chuckles laughed, "Well, at least you haven't lost your sense of humour as well as your right fin," he said, grinning at Gill, "and do you know the really ironic thing about that?" he asked.

"I have a suspicion that you are going to tell me," Gill replied, sighing quietly to himself.

"Your plan actually worked," said Chuckles, "sort of, anyway. For at least part of you. You see, Doctor Sherman over there," he indicated where the dentist was operating on a complaining patient, "he picked up your fin, what was left of it. Flushed it down the toilet, he did. So it's making its way back to the ocean, even as we speak – your plan worked, your right fin, most of it, anyway, made its way back to the ocean – the biggest irony is that you are no longer connected to it."

Gill sighed, and then glared up at where Chuckles was still grinning at him, "And how come you are with us, anyway?" he asked moodily, "I thought goldfish were freshwater fish. Surely this salt water is not exactly good for your health."

"That's because I'm an alien mutant from a moon of Venus," Chuckles replied.

"Venus doesn't have any moons," Gill countered.

"Well, you're intelligence also hasn't been affected," Chuckles commented, "Jupiter then."

"You expect me to believe that?" Gill asked.

"No," Chuckles replied, still grinning, "but it's true. Oh not the alien from another planet or moon part," he added dismissively, "but I am a mutant. Back in London, where I come from, there's these scientists who have been creating mutant fish, freshwater fish that can survive and thrive in saltwater, and saltwater fish that can do the same in freshwater. They're pretty clever creatures, these humans, whatever else they might or might not be. Anyway, I'm one of those mutants, bred so that I can survive perfectly fine in saltwater. Seems that there's quite a demand for goldfish that can live alongside tropical fish in humans' aquaria."

"They should leave fish alone," Gill replied, "why do humans always want to interfere with everything all the time?"

"Good thing they did, if everything you tell me about Mr. Elias and Sammy is true," Chuckles countered, "otherwise you'd still be out there in the ocean, covered in oil."

"It was the humans who released that poisonous oil out into my home in the first place," Gill replied.

Chuckles was silent for a moment, "It's just their way," he said after a while. "But this isn't about humans, this is about you." Chuckles sighed, "Look, Gurgle saw you struggling to swim up Mount Wannahawkaloogie last night. He didn't know what to do to help you, so he woke me up to see what you were doing."

"Is that right?" Gill asked, frowning slightly.

"Yep," said Chuckles, "of course, I didn't know what to do either," he added, "so we just watched you with our shared ignorance. Ignorance squared, if you like, ignorance times ignorance. But it was better, because at least we had each other, because that's all any of us have."

Gill gave him a long look, and Chuckles smiled back, "We're all any of us have," Chuckles said quietly, "and that's enough. But we need each other, to keep us sane."

"Bubbles, bubbles bubbles bubbles!" came an excited exclamation from the direction of the treasure chest, in another part of the tank.

Chuckles sighed, his unusually serious mood interrupted by Bubbles' obsessive personality, "Well, more or less sane," he added.

"You think the Tank Gang keep me sane?" Gill asked.

"Huh, I guess put like that it does sound a bit weird," Chuckles admitted, "but at least you have someone to talk to, rather than, for example, holding lengthy discussions with your reflection due to the mistaken belief that it is your sister." Chuckles pointed towards where Deb was talking to her reflection on the side of the tank.

Gill sighed again, "Look, I know that you are trying to help, but I really just want to be left alone right now," he said.

"Oh, you'll miss me when I'm gone," Chuckles replied airily.

"Is that right?" Gill asked, "And where exactly do you intend to go? Have you been formulating escape plans of your own?"

"Nah, I'll leave that up to you, thanks all the same, I rather like my right fin being attached to my body, thank you anyway," Chuckles replied airily.

"Fine, I deserved that," Gill sighed.

"Seems Doctor Sherman's niece, that girl Darla with the red hair and the braces, seems it's her birthday next month," said Chuckles, "I'm going to be her present," he added, sounding proud.

"She's going to be given a mutant alien goldfish for her birthday, is she?" Gill gave Chuckles a wry smile.

Chuckles grinned at him, "Touché, beloved leader," he said, "seems Doctor Sherman thinks that everyone else is as obsessive about fish as he is, seems he can't think of what else to get her," he added.

"And you don't mind?" Gill asked.

Chuckles gave the fish equivalent of a shrug, "No, not really," he said, "your kind, Moorish idols, are infamous for not doing well in small fish tanks, but my kind are perfectly okay in them. Goldfish make great pets, and we're often given as the first pets that children have, because we are so friendly and cute."

"And modest," Gill added.

Chuckles laughed, "So, I want to spend as much time annoying you in the interim period, so that you can look back on the time when I shared your tank with you, hopefully with at least a few good memories. Because I'll be going to a better place."

"You're not going to leave me alone until I come out of my skull, are you?" Gill asked, giving Chuckles a small smile.

"Nope, got to make the most of the time that we have left together, 'cos it's short," Chuckles replied, grinning at him, "too short for you to waste time sulking."

"I'm not sulking, I'm resting," Gill replied.

"You can do that outside of your skull," Chuckles said.

Gill sighed, but gave Chuckles another small smile, "Oh, all right," he said, "it's clear that I'll get no peace and quiet until I do as you say."

"Correct, beloved leader," Chuckles replied, watching with satisfaction as Gill swam, rather awkwardly, out of his skull.

At that moment, Nigel flew into the window. Gill turned his attention to where the pelican was opening the window, and grinning in at the Tank Gang, "Sorry it's been a while since I came to visit you lot," he said, "anything interesting been happening while I was away? A root canal perhaps?"

"No root canal," replied Chuckles, "but there has been an escape plan."

"Gill right?" asked the pelican.

"How did you guess?" Chuckles answered, rolling his eyes, and pointing towards Gill.

"Hi mate, I hear that you put in place an escape plan. Didn't work, huh?" asked Nigel.

"You…could say that," Gill replied, swimming erratically towards the pelican, so that Nigel was able to get a good look at what remained of his torn right fin, and the scars on his right side.

"Oh, ouch," said Nigel in sympathy.

"Yes, exactly, ouch," Gill said, "don't use a bubble volcano to launch yourself across a dentist office, there are lots of sharp tools that can harm you if you are going to try," Gill added.

"I've got to admit, I have never even considered doing exactly that," Nigel replied, "does this mean that you are going to give up on trying to formulate escape plans from this place?"

"Tempting…" muttered Gill, as he stared at Nigel – at his rather large beak, "but I don't think so."

"Well, just try and be careful that you don't hurt yourself next time," Nigel replied.

Gill just continued to stare at him. Nigel ruffled his feathers uncomfortably, "Uh, Gill," he said, "why are you staring at me like that?"

"You have a very big bill…" Gill murmured.

"Uh, yes that's true," Nigel replied awkwardly, then winked at Gill, "it's an even bigger bill than that charged by the dentist over there," he indicated Doctor Sherman, tilting his head towards him.

"Uh, what?" asked Gill.

Nigel sighed, "It's a joke, a pun or play on words1. You see, a bill can refer to a bird's beak, or to some kind of fee, such as that charged by a dentist," he explained.

"Right," muttered Gill, "that wasn't very funny," he added.

"Everyone's a critic," Nigel replied, rolling his eyes.

"But your…beak," said Gill carefully, "it's pretty large, right?"

"What are you trying to get at, Gill?" asked Nigel, watching him uncertainly.

"A very large bill," Gill said thoughtfully, "a bill large enough to transport fish back to the ocean where they belong?" Gill grinned up at him, "I think I've just come up with another escape plan, ingenious in its simplicity," he said.

1 Loving stolen borrowed from Sir Terry Pratchett's _Discworld_ series


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 12 – Of Feathered Friends and Flying Fish_

 **Author's Notes – I want to make Chuckles likeable, and an important member of the Tank Gang – so that it is understandable that the rest of the Tank Gang will be upset when he dies, as his death will have a big impact on Gill. Now, as requested, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

"No," said Gurgle, looking from Gill and to Nigel, and then back again, "oh no, you're not planning to do what I think you are planning to do, are you?"

Gill stifled a sigh, "Look, it's obvious," he said, "Nigel can transport us in his beak, out of the window and down to the harbour, and from there we can swim to the ocean." He turned his attention back to where Nigel was watching them with interest, and gave the pelican a small smile, "With your permission, of course," he said.

"Hey, it's fine by me," replied Nigel, "we will have to do this at some point when the dentist isn't around though," he added.

Gurgle looked up at Nigel, gave him an awkward grin, and then pulled Gill down towards the bottom of the tank, "Fish are meant to swim, fish are not meant to fly!" he practically hissed.

"You've heard of flying fish, haven't you?" Gill asked.

"Oh, very funny," said Gurgle sarcastically, then glared at Gill, "I can't believe I have to tell you this," he whispered, "but fish don't take rides in birds' beaks!"

"I'm sure it's perfectly safe," said Gill dismissively, "I'm sure that Nigel would never do anything to hurt us."

Gurgle indicated Gill's right side, the torn and useless remains of Gill's fin. Then Gurgle quietly hissed, "Haven't you learnt anything from your previous escape attempt?"

"Don't worry, there are no dentistry tools inside Nigel's beak," Gill replied.

"Huh?" said Nigel, craning forward, "did I hear my name mentioned?"

Gurgle gave him another awkward grin, "Uh, we were just talking…" he said.

Gill sighed, and turned his attention towards where Nigel was peering in at them, "I said that there are no dentistry tools inside your beak," he said.

Nigel grinned down at Gill and Gurgle; Gill suspected that the pelican was enjoying this just a little bit too much, as Nigel winked at them, "That's right," the pelican said, "there's no dentistry tools inside my beak, and I should know, it would be very uncomfortable if there were any sharp things like that in there. Want to have a look?" he opened his beak very wide, and Gurgle screamed in fright, before swimming down to the base of Mount Wannahawkaloogie, where he proceeded to shiver in fear.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" Gill accused.

"I think that one's a nervous wreck," Nigel commented, "I don't think he will be able to take a ride on Air Nigel without a lot of coaxing first."

Gill looked at where the gramma was still shivering, "You have a point," he said thoughtfully, "but I'm sure if I go first, and someone goes with him, he will be able to manage a short flight."

"Yeah, maybe," Nigel sounded uncertain, then turned his attention towards where the dentist had noticed him, "anyway, I've got to fly, get in touch again as soon as the dentist is distracted, and we can put your plan into action." With that, the pelican flew away into the clear blue sky.

The dentist scowled as he watched Nigel fly away, "Darn birds," he muttered to himself, "always after the tropical fish." Without another word, he went back to examining a patient in another part of the room.

"Now…we just have to wait," Gill said.

Unfortunately, patience was not one of Gill's virtues. He spent the next few minutes swimming backwards and forwards from one side of the tank to the other. Chuckles gave a little laugh after the fifth time he did this, and Gill looked up at where the goldfish was grinning down at him, "What?" Gill demanded.

Chuckles giggled, "Oh, nothing," he said airily, "It's just that fish can't pace, we're just not made for pacing, yet somehow you seemed to manage it, you seemed to be pacing back and forth up and down this tank."

"And you found that funny?" Gill asked.

"Hey, I have to get my amusement where I can," Chuckles replied.

Gill was going to reply, but Peach interrupted him, "Potty break!" she said excitedly, "We have just over three minutes."

"Plenty of time," Gill replied, then turned his attention to where Bloat had positioned himself, inflated, under the bubble volcano, "Are you ready to alert Nigel that we are ready?" Gill asked.

"Yep, ready and willing," he said.

Gill placed a yellow flower in the top of Mount Wannahawkaloogie, and a moment later, it was shot towards the window - a clear signal to Nigel. It did not take long for the pelican to fly back to them. Gill grinned up at him, "Are you ready?" he asked.

"Dentist not around?" Nigel asked.

Gill indicated the toilet, "He will be in there a little while, but I don't think we have time to dawdle," he said.

"Right," said Nigel, and forced the window open with his beak.

The pelican then looked into the room, and hesitated. Of course, thought Gill, he's a bird - his natural place is in the open expanse of the sky, not cooped up here in a this tiny room; he does not feel like he belongs in here, anymore than I feel like I belong in a box. Better be patient with him. "Let us know when you feel ready," said Gill, giving the pelican an encouraging smile.

"Uh, yeah…" said Nigel, as he carefully, nervously, made his way inside the room. He looked around himself momentarily, and stared at the door to the toilet, understandably wanting to avoid having the dentist detect him inside the room. After staring at the door for several seconds, almost certainly to reassure himself, he turned his attention back to the Tank Gang, and gave them a nervous smile, "Uh, right, okay," he said uncertainly, "which one of you wants to be the first to flay Air Nigel."

Of course, there was no question that Gill should be the first to enter Nigel's beak. Giving the others a reassuring smile, he swam towards where Nigel was lowering his beak into the tank…

And stopped. Gill stared up at the inside of the pelican's beak. Suddenly, as he stared at the open mouth, all of his confidence and bravado seemed to melt away. Gill realised that he could not just swim inside Nigel's beak – all of his instincts were practically screaming at him to avoid getting close to a bird, especially to avoid contact with a bird's beak – however much his rational mind and intelligence tried to reassure him that Nigel was a friend, who would never hurt fish he knew personally. But fish were ancient creatures, had lived on Earth for millions of years, and in that time had developed clear instincts to avoid the birds that fed upon them. And so Gill remained still, his instincts urging him to swim away, his mind telling him to move forward, and the rest of the Tank Gang just watching, unsure what was happening with their leader, or what they should do to help him.

Time seemed to stand still, as Gill remained staring into Nigel's open mouth, and found that he could neither swim into the pelican's open beak, nor swim away from Nigel.

"Gotcha!" suddenly, Doctor Sherman had his hands around Nigel's beak, and was escorting the struggling pelican towards the window.

Gill seemed to come out of his trance, and shook himself, looking around at the rest of the Tank Gang, who were still watching him uncertainly. Gill gave them a slightly embarrassed smile, "Well, it was worth a try," he said apologetically.

"And stay away from my fish!" the dentist added, as Nigel was shoved out of the window. Although his feathers seemed to be ruffled, the pelican did not appear to be harmed. However, he gave the Tank Gang a quick wink, and flew away – probably the most sensible course of action, Gill thought, with the dentist now aware that he had come into his surgery and tried to put fish in his beak – although Doctor Sherman was obviously unaware of the wider implications of Gill's plan. Gill sighed, and watched the dentist as he walked back over to the other side of the room, grumbling under his breath.

There was a moment of silence, as the Tank Gang watched Gill uncertainly. Predictably enough, it was Chuckles who broke this silence, "Okay, so that's two escape plans, and two failures – a success rate of exactly zero percent. Perhaps now you will take notice of Gurgle and stop trying this foolishness," he said.

"Hey, don't get me involved in this!" Gurgle hissed towards Chuckles.

Gill looked at the goldfish and the gramma, and then smiled at both of them, "No, Gurgle's right, as usual," he said.

"Oh great, so you _are_ going to stop trying to escape," said Chuckles, sounding relieved.

"No, I'll never give up trying to get back to the ocean," Gill said, and then turned his attention to where Doctor Sherman was seeing to another patient, and stared at the dentist for a long moment. "But I've been going about this the wrong way," he added quietly, turning around and facing the rest of the Tank Gang, "I've been trying to formulate escape plans when the dentist has not been around, trying to avoid him. But humans rule the land, and I know that they have at least some degree of intelligence," he grinned at the slightly wary looks that the rest of the Tank Gang were giving him. "What I need to do is get the dentist to actually help us get back to the ocean, rather than trying to sneak there when he is not looking," he said, "so I'm going to find a way to communicate with Doctor Sherman, so that he can help me with my next escape plan."


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter 13 – Poor Communication_

It is very hard to do sign language when you do not have any fingers. It is especially hard to do sign language when, in addition to this, you only have one good fin. Nevertheless, Gill attempted to use sign language in order to try to communicate with Doctor Sherman, to tell him that he wanted to return back to the ocean. He attempted to use American Sign Language and British Sign Language, the only two types that he remembered Mr. Elias using, on those rare occasions when he had read a book about sign language to Patch. Gill was not even sure if he had remembered the signs correctly – and even if he had, if he was able to sign in such a way that humans would be able to understand that that was indeed what he was attempting to do. Still, he persisted, determined to at least keep trying to communicate with the dentist, who seemed amiable enough that Gill was convinced that he would be willing to return Gill back to his ocean home, if only Gill could somehow make him understand that he did not like being held in captivity. Gill signed _We Go Ocean_ several times over the next few weeks, in the hope that Doctor Sherman might be able to realise that Gill was trying to communicate with him.

It was a hopeless task. Even if Gill had still had both of his fins intact, being able to form even the most basic of signs would have been challenging enough – with only one fin it was practically impossible. He remembered Mr. Elias reading to Patch information about apes that had learned to use sign language in order to communicate with humans, but even their use of signing had been decidedly limited, and these apes had hands that were much the same as human hands – certainly very much different from the fins of fish. Once or twice, Gill had asked other members of the Tank Gang to attempt to use sign language to try to communicate with Doctor Sherman – reasoning that, since the other fish that shared his tank still had their fins intact, they might have a better chance of communicating with the dentist, when compared to their crippled leader. Most of them clearly found this whole idea pretty ridiculous – Gurgle and Chuckles had been more than willing to tell Gill this – but Bloat and Deb had attempted to sign to Doctor Sherman, anyway, once Gill had taught them what he remembered from his time within Mr. Elias' tank.

Neither Deb nor Bloat were any more successful at communicating with Doctor Sherman than Gill had been. On the rare occasions when the dentist did notice them, and did seem to realise that they were trying to communicate with him, he would simply laugh and give them fish food, clearly assuming that that was what they wanted, and the only reason that they were behaving in this manner. As Gill watched Deb arguing with Flo, telling her 'sister' that she was not signing effectively, so Gill realised that this was yet another plan that was not going to work. So he was going to have to find another way of trying to communicate with the dentist. He tried carefully mouthing his desire to return to the ocean to Doctor Sherman, in a rather desperate hope that the dentist might be able to lip-read – even though fish did not, technically, have lips. This proved to be just as ineffective as Gill's other attempts at communicating with the dentist, and Gill gradually grew more and more frustrated at his inability to communicate effectively with the human.

What they really needed, Gill decided, was some sort of translator. Patch had been able to communicate with Mr. Elias, in a way, as well as being able to talk with William and Gill. It was a shame that the dentist did not have a pet dog; if he had of done – and if the dog had been as friendly as Patch had been – then perhaps that dog could have been used to communicate with Doctor Sherman. Still, it did not seem as if Doctor Sherman was interested in any other type of pet except for the creatures he kept within his fish tank, and so it was clear that some other type of creature would be needed in order to be a translator from fish to human. With this in mind, Gill had asked Nigel if he knew of any birds that could communicate with humans. Nigel had listened, but been rather sceptical. The pelican had said that some parrots and related species could speak human languages, but that he did not know any personally, and was not sure that there were any that would be able to interpret for Gill even if he did. And even if he were to be able to get a friendly parrot here and that parrot was somehow able to translate for Gill, Nigel was still not sure that they would be able to persuade Doctor Sherman to listen, rather than to try and escort the parrot out of the window, as he had done so recently to Nigel himself.

Gill sighed quietly to himself. No, spoken language would not work, he decided, as he pulled a plastic diver from the side of the tank, and neither would sign language, nor any kind of lip-reading. Well, there was one other form of communication that he had not tried yet, and that was written language. He placed the diver down next to a number of plastic plants, and then went over to the other side of the tank, picked up some more plastic plants, and brought them over to where he was working on his most recent plan.

"Do I _want_ to know what you are doing now?" Chuckles asked, looking down at Gill with some amusement.

Gill sighed, "One last chance to communicate with Doctor Sherman," he said, adjusting the diver slightly, "I've tried sign language and trying to get the dentist to do some lip-reading. Communicating in verbal language also doesn't seem as if it has much chance of working. So I'm left with written language."

"You know, I used to think you were one of the sanest inhabitants of this tank," muttered Chuckles.

"Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!" came an exclamation, as Bubbles went swimming excitingly past them, towards where Jacques was teaching Gurgle the French word for bubbles1.

Gill turned back to Chuckles, "Compared to what?" he muttered dryly.

"Okay, I give up, what exactly are you doing?" said Chuckles, turning his attention back to where Gill was placing yet more flowers down onto the base of the tank.

Gill gave him a quick grin, "Writing," he said, "forming letters and words out of the objects that are within this tank. Come and look at it from this angle," he added, indicating for Chuckles to come closer to his work.

The goldfish looked sceptical, but followed Gill anyway. If all of the objects were looked at from a particular angle, then it did indeed seem as though they were forming letters, which were, in turn, formed into words. As Chuckles squinted, he could just about make out what Gill was trying to 'write' with the plastic objects from the tank – _WE GO OCEAN PLEASE._

Chuckles turned his attention back to Gill, "You think this will work?" he asked, sounding more than a little sceptical.

Gill sighed, "Have you got a better idea?" he asked.

"No," Chuckles admitted, "personally, I think that you should stop wasting your time trying to find a way out of here and instead try to enjoy your time within this tank. But you knew that anyway," he added.

"I won't give up," Gill muttered quietly, "if this doesn't work, then I'll find another way, and if _that also_ doesn't work, then I'll find yet another way. Some day, I will return to the ocean where I belong."

"Well, I've got to admire your determination, if nothing else," said Chuckles. He looked up, "Ah, and here comes our beloved dentist right now," he added, "let's see what he thinks of your little work of art."

Gill glared at Chuckles for a moment, and then turned his attention to where Doctor Sherman had come over to the tank. The dentist was opening a container of fish food, and he then began to sprinkle this absentmindedly into the aquarium. Gill continued to stare up at him, as the fish food gradually descended around him. After a while, Doctor Sherman frowned slightly, when he saw the plants and various objects within the tank arranged in some strange way at the base of the tank. The dentist shook his head, "Darn kids, always fiddling with the fish tank, as if it wasn't bad enough when they kept getting plastic flowers all over the toilet seat," he muttered, and then reached down into the tank. He lifted the plastic objects up into his hand, and then placed them back where they had originally been, before Gill had made this most recent attempt at inter-species communication. The dentist sighed quietly as he removed his hand from the tank, and then began to dry his hand on a towel. "I just hope that that filter is still working okay," he muttered to himself, as he returned back to the other side of his surgery, "otherwise the tank might get dirty and the fish might get sick, with all of the kids playing around with it like that."

Gill continued to watch him for a moment or two, and then gave a huge sigh, "He didn't even notice that they spelt anything," he said.

"Right," muttered Chuckles, "and you thought that he would, did you? I don't think all of these attempts to communicate with him are doing any good, do you? How many failed attempts is that now?"

Gill glared up at where Chuckles was grinning at him, and then sighed again. "No, you are right," he muttered, frowning slightly. "All of these attempts at communication…I'm going about this the wrong way…" his voice trailed off, and he swam towards his skull; he always seemed to think better when he had time alone in his skull, time with which to consider his available options for escape plans.

Chuckles followed him, and peered in at Gill through the empty socket, "Just give up," he suggested, giving him a friendly smile, "you've shown a great deal of creativity and ingenuity with these escape attempts, but they just don't work. Better to just enjoy the time that we have left together, before I go and live with Darla."

"You might be happy to go and live the rest of your life as a child's pet, but I'm not," Gill replied, staring up at Chuckles. "Help me think," he added, "I've tried the volcano, I've tried the pelican, I've tried various ways of communicating with humans, what's left to try?"

"Hmm, not sure," admitted Chuckles, "but the dentist said something about the filter and it keeping this place clean," he added, giving the fish equivalent of a shrug, "do you think that might be of any help?"

Gill stared at Chuckles for a long moment, then at the filter, then at Doctor Sherman (who was still grumbling to himself about annoying kids) and then back to Chuckles once more. Slowly, he smiled, and then grinned, as he stared up a Chuckle's suddenly slightly worried expression.

"Uh oh," muttered Chuckles, "I've seen that look, it means that you've got another idea for an escape plan brewing in that brilliant but slightly insane brain of yours."

"Was that a compliment or an insult?" asked Gill, giving Chuckles a wry smile, "and you are right, I think I've got another idea for an escape plan, and this involves the filter."

"Oh great, another escape plan," said Chuckles, rolling his eyes. He grinned, looked down at where Gill was still staring at him, and sighed, "oh very well, fearless leader," he said, "I still think you are wasting your time and energy, but I'll help you in any way that I can."

"Thank you," said Gill, "that means a lot to me. And I will miss you when you are gone," he added sincerely.

1 ' _bulles_ ' according to a quick internet search


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 14 – Farewell to a Friend_

 **Author's Notes – Warning, sad chapter ahead. Poor Chuckles :'(**

Gill knew that, no matter how long he lived, he would never forget how he felt on the day that Chuckles died. It had started on a day much like any other – Gill had woken up in the morning, swam out of his skull, and started to make escape plans. First, he had stared up at the filter, trying to remember everything that Chuckles and Doctor Sherman had said the previous day – that it kept the tank clean, and that it would stop working if it was blocked. Okay, thought Gill, still staring up at the filter – so it gets blocked, and that means that the tank will get dirty. That means – surely – that if that happens, then the dentist will want to remove us from the tank. And that means that he will want to keep us in clean water while he fixes the filter - so he will want to place us in clean plastic baggies while he works on the filter. So, let's see - he puts us all in individual baggies by the window, and, from there, we can roll ourselves out of here - out the window, down the awning, across the street, into the harbour, and then make our way from the harbour to the ocean, where fish belong. So, all I have to do is block that filter.

How?

He looked around himself briefly, then picked up a pebble in his mouth. He placed it down in front of the filter, then stared up at the filter once more. No, it would need to be a slightly bigger pebble, Gill decided, so chose a slightly larger, slightly smoother pebble for his most recent plan. It was only then that he noticed that Chuckles had been watching him, grinning the whole time.

"Yet another escape plan, fearless leader?" the goldfish asked.

"I have to block the filter," Gill replied, looking from Chuckles, to the pebble, to the filter then back to Chuckles once more, "that means I have to choose one of exactly the right size so that it can get into the filter and stop it from working."

"And how, exactly, are you planning to do that?" asked Chuckles curiously.

Gill picked up a plastic plant, and began to tie the end of the stem around the pebble. "I can use this," he said, glancing at Chuckles as he continued working, "I can hold on to one end, and the other end, the end with the pebble on it, that goes to stopping the filter."

"This I have got to see," said Chuckles, watching Gill intently for the next few minutes, and grinning in a way that Gill suspected was purposefully annoying.

Gill tried to ignore Chuckles, although that was challenging. Working on his latest plan took some effort – he was gradually adjusting to having only one good fin, but it still made manipulating objects difficult – but he was able, eventually, to tie the pebble tight enough so that it would not slip out of the knot. Then he tried to insert his new tool into the filter, only to find out that it was not long enough to reach. With a sigh, and with Chuckles still silently watching him, Gill started to tie another plant onto the one with the pebble. Seeing that he was having difficulty, since he was using only one fin, Chuckles eventually decided to come and help him with his task, and they had just about managed to connect the two plants together, when suddenly Doctor Sherman's grinning face could be seen looking down upon them.

"Well, aren't you a beauty," the dentist said, lowering a plastic baggie into the tank and scooping up Chuckles within it, "Darla will really like her birthday present this year, I'm sure."

Chuckles did not struggle. He did not seem to mind at all as he was taken from the tank, in the baggie, and placed behind Doctor Sherman's back. Sometimes Gill wondered if things would have been – could have been – different if Chuckles had not been so accepting of his fate. Of course, Chuckles had, at the time, been completely unaware of what was going to happen to him that day – at Gill was thankful for at least that small mercy.

Darla entered Doctor Sherman's surgery, excitable as ever, and even more enthusiastic than normal upon hearing that she was going to get a birthday present. The bag, complete with goldfish, was given to Darla. For a brief moment, Gill had thought – hoped – that that would be all that would happen – Darla would get her birthday present, Chuckles would go and live with her in another tank for the rest of his life, and the Tank Gang would simply find a way of adjusting to life without him.

However, it quickly became clear to Gill that something was going wrong. Darla was shaking the bag, with Chuckles inside it – although Doctor Sherman was attempting to stop her, he was not being very firm with her, and so she merely continued shaking the bag. At first, Chuckles had looked as if he did not mind – might have even been enjoying it in a strange kind of way – but it quickly became apparent that Darla was being much too rough and that she was, albeit unintentionally, harming the goldfish. For once, Chuckles looked worried and uncertain – his usual wry grin replaced by a look of fear and doubt. Chuckles tried to smile at Gill and the other members of the Tank Gang – but it was clear that he was merely trying, and failing, to reassure them – he was terrified.

The feeling was infectious. The Tank Gang were panicking, not knowing what to do, and so shouting and arguing with each other – which was not exactly helping Gill to think. They were also trying to appeal to Gill, to get him to do something – anything – to help Chuckles.

And Gill found himself merely staring in horror, unable to do or say anything, while everyone seemed to be panicking all around him. Finally, he managed to control his own fear enough to stare Chuckles directly in the eye. "Stop panicking," he practically ordered, although he might as well have been telling himself the same thing, "we have to approach this logically."

Chuckles gave him a small, worried smile, "I'm having a bit of trouble thinking logically right now, oh fearless leader," he said, with only the barest hint of his usual humour.

Gill smiled at him, in what he hoped was a reassuring way, despite the panic that he was beginning to think might overwhelm him at any moment. "Understandable. What we have to do is stop her from shaking the bag," he said.

"Oh good plan," Chuckles replied, trying to sound both cheerful and sarcastic at the same time, "any idea how to go about that, beloved leader?"

No, thought Gill, I haven't. And everyone yelling all around me is not exactly helping me think. So he simply turned around, and glared at the rest of the Tank Gang, who were still arguing and panicking amongst themselves. "Quiet, all of you!" he ordered. "I need to think!"

Silence suddenly descended. The Tank Gang looked at each other uncertainly, then turned their attention back to Gill. Then they turned their attention back to where Darla was still shaking the bag. Gurgle slowly raised a fin, and stared at Gill in an almost apologetic manner, "We don't exactly have _time_ to wait for you to think up a plan right now," he said.

You're right, Gill mentally cursed himself. Gurgle had a nasty habit of being right whenever he challenged Gill, and only Chuckles had seemed to realise this. Gill turned around and stared at Chuckles once more. Okay, think Gill, think. At least the rest of the Tank Gang had stopped, for the moment at least, arguing amongst themselves. Gill sighed, as Chuckles gave him a very weak smile.

"Right," said Gill, trying to sound a lot more confident than he felt, and concentrating on looking Chuckles directly in the eye. "Darla's a child. Children get bored easily, if you don't do anything. Stop reacting to what she is doing."

"That's a lot harder said than done, beloved leader," said Chuckles.

"Most things are," Gill smiled at him, "but I think I know what you should do now. Play dead. She will get bored if she thinks that you are dead, and then, with any luck, the dentist will either put you back here or flush you down the toilet, thereby allowing you to go back to the ocean where you belong."

"You and all your talk of the ocean," muttered Chuckles, still managing to smile through his fear.

"Do this," Gill instructed. Then he demonstrated, going belly-up in the water, as though he was dead.

"Hey, that's a good trick," muttered Bloat from behind him.

Gurgle growled at Bloat, "Don't interrupt him, this might just work!" the gramma hissed.

Gill righted himself – it felt unnatural to be floating upside-down – and watched Chuckles, with no small amount of satisfaction, as he saw him imitating Gill, going belly-up inside the baggie.

"Like this, oh fearless one?" Chuckles asked.

"Very good, keep it up," Gill instructed.

Darla seemed to have noticed that there was something wrong with Chuckles, and was shaking the bag harder now. Chuckles seemed even more fearful than he had been before, but managed to give Gill the smallest of smiles, "I don't think this is working," he said, his voice shaking, "have you got any more plans, Gill?"

Had Chuckles ever called Gill by his given name before? Gill was unsure – he could not remember any instances right now, although he was having serious trouble remembering anything at the moment, due to his fear for the goldfish's safety. Chuckles had always seemed to refer to Gill as his fearless or beloved leader – in a manner that might or might not have been sarcastic. There was no sarcasm now, no laughter – Chuckles was terrified, but there did not seem to be anything that the goldfish could do to stop Darla. There did not seem to be anything that Gill, or any of the Tank Gang, could do to help him either – Gill could do nothing except stare at him, feeling completely helpless.

At least Chuckles was managing to remain belly-up, as Darla continued to shake the bag. He had been belly-up for quite a while, and Gill was impressed that he had managed to remain upside-down for so long. Finally, to Gill's immense relief, Doctor Sherman seemed to notice that his niece was being far too rough with the goldfish, and managed to persuade her to keep still for a moment, while he took out his camera and took a photo of Darla with her present. The rest of the Tank Gang looked on, and Gill hoped that this nightmare would soon be over, that Chuckles would soon be back, safe and happy, with the rest of the Tank Gang - or, even better, flushed down the toilet so that he could make his way to the vast freedom of the open ocean.

The photo was taken, and Darla put down the baggie next to the tank, having apparently got bored of her present, when Doctor Sherman said that he was going to give her some cake for her birthday. Gill turned his attention from Darla to Chuckles, and then let out a breath that he had not realised, until that moment, he had been holding in. "Good work," he said, grinning at Chuckles, "very impressive. Okay, it's all over now, you can stop playing dead."

There was a moment of absolute silence. Gill stared at the bag. Chuckles seemed to be far too still, but the goldfish did have a rather dry sense of humour, and it was not beyond him to want to play tricks on his friends. Gill sighed. "Okay, Chuckles, a joke is a joke, but you can stop pretending now…Chuckles?" he said, staring at the goldfish, hoping against hope to see any signs of life.

From what seemed to be a very long way away, Gill heard Gurgle say, "I…don't think Chuckles would joke about this sort of thing…"

Gill turned around, and stared at the gramma, who merely gave him an apologetic look. Without a word, Gill turned back and stared at Chuckles once more. "This isn't funny, Chuckles," Gill said, "stop pretending, you're getting everyone worried that you are really hurt…"

In the silence that followed, Gill felt Gurgle place a gentle but firm fin on his side. Gill turned from the goldfish to the gramma, as Gurgle said, very quietly, the words that Gill knew would haunt him for the rest of his life: "There's nothing more we can do for Chuckles now."


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter 15 – The Broken Crown_

 **As requested, here is the next chapter in** _ **Guardian**_ **. Enjoy.**

"No…" said Gill, in a barely audible whisper, as he swam away from Gurgle, and turned his attention back to the inert goldfish in the bag, "no," he repeated. This was not real, this could not be happening, they could not lose Chuckles like this…no, he had to be dreaming, having a nightmare, imagining…

Gill turned back to where the Tank Gang were watching him, all of them wearing shocked and worried expressions. This is real, Gill realised – I'm not dreaming or hallucinating – but the feelings are too much, threatened to overwhelm me. "I, I need to be alone, just for a moment," he said, as he looked from the Tank Gang, back to where Chuckles was still belly-up in the bag, and then back to the Tank Gang once more. Without another word, he swam back to his skull, and began to shudder slightly, still trying to make sense of the shock of Chuckles' death.

He sighed to himself, trying to get control of himself and his emotions – he needed to be strong for the others, for the rest of the Tank Gang, who were doubtlessly feeling just as bad as he was right now – but he needed a moment to himself, so that he would be able to help them. He stared out of the socket of the skull, to Chuckles' dead body within the plastic baggie, then shuddered again, turned away from the grizzly sight, and swam to the back of the skull. He picked up the crown of yellow flowers that the Tank Gang had made for him during the initiation ceremony, and shuddered once more – they trusted me to be their leader, to help and protect them, and now I have betrayed that trust, let Chuckles down, failed to protect him when he needed me – betrayed them all. Gill frowned, put the crown between his mouth and his good fin, and pulled it apart. The simple act of destroying the symbol of the Tank Gang's trust in him made him feel a slight sense of relief - as he watched the remains of the crown float down to the base of the skull - although part of him wished that he could do the same to his own body, to try to force these feelings of shame and guilt out of himself.

"That bad, huh?" Gill turned around when he heard that voice, and saw Peach looking through the socket of his skull, smiling sadly at him, "I know you, my dear friend," she said, "that action from you is the equivalent of hours of shouting and screaming from any one of the rest of The Tank Gang."

"I failed him," Gill said, staring from the broken crown to the starfish, "he trusted me to lead him, and I failed him."

"It was not your fault," Peach told him quietly.

Of course it was, Gill told himself; I'm their leader, so I'm responsible for everything that happens to them. Gill sighed, "I know you are trying to make me feel better," he told Peach, "But I should have been able to do something to help him."

"What could you have done?" asked Peach quietly.

Gill looked down at the remains of the crown, "Something," he replied, "anything. I should have known, should have been able to predict, should have reasoned…" his voice trailed off.

"There's no way that you or anyone could have known that this would happen," Peach replied, her voice quiet and kindly, "nothing like this has ever happened before."

Gill looked up at Peach, and sighed, "In the ocean," he said quietly, remembering what had happened to his brothers and sisters on the day that he had been taken from his ocean home, so long ago, "there are dangers, so many dangers. But that is all part of life in the ocean, realising that the price you might have to pay for your freedom, out there, is your own life." He sighed again, "But here, in a tank…well, I always thought that at least we had safety here, in captivity – that we would be kept safe inside this tank." He gave Peach a very small smile, "I never thought that safety was worth the price, but Chuckles never seemed to mind living inside a tank… and he was the first of the Tank Gang to die…" And he _will_ be the last, Gill silently promised himself. Gill glanced up at the dead goldfish, and shuddered, before turning his attention back to Peach once more, "When will it stop hurting?" he asked her, his voice now incredibly quiet.

"It never does," Peach replied, her voice no louder than Gill's, "when someone you cared for dies," she looked down, "not long before you came here, the parrotfish twins Faith and Hope died, but at least they died of old age, after a long life. I still miss them though," she added, "but you get used to the pain after a while, it never completely goes away, but it becomes easier to ignore after a while, as time goes on."

"I hope so," Gill smiled up at Peach, "I feel tired," he said, suddenly realising how emotionally exhausted he felt, "I want to sleep, just for a little while. Perhaps I will feel better after some sleep."

Peach stared at him uncertainly for a long while, then seemed to relent, "Yes, perhaps we should all get some sleep," she said, "as Gurgle said, there's nothing more we can do to help Chuckles now, and there is no point in making ourselves sick. I'll leave you now," she added, "but if you need someone to talk to, don't be afraid to come and have a chat with me," she gave him a small smile, then, reluctantly, left Gill to his own unpleasant thoughts.

Gill tried to sleep, but he could not stop himself from thinking about Chuckles. He kept replaying the events of the day over and over in his mind, trying to think of something – anything – that he could have done differently, so that Chuckles would still be alive. Maybe if the goldfish had fought, maybe if he had not been so accepting of his fate as a captive pet, maybe then things would have been different. But Gurgle was right, as usual, and so was Peach - there was nothing that he could do to help Chuckles now – so he would have to devote the rest of his life to ensuring that the same fate did not befall any other member of the Tank Gang.

It took a long time, but exhaustion eventually forced Gill to sleep – although it was a restless sleep, plagued with nightmares. As the new day dawned, Gill saw Peach outside of his skull, looking in, worry in her small, black eyes. She indicated some fish food that she had placed just outside of the skull, "You should eat something," she said, "otherwise you might get sick."

Gill sighed, and looked down at the fish food. "I'm really not hungry," he said. "I'll eat later, I promise, but right now I really don't feel like it."

Peach looked at him intently for a while. "Okay," she said eventually, "but let me know if you need someone to talk to."

"I will, I promise," said Gill, "I just need a bit longer alone, that's all."

Peach gave him a small smile, then made her way towards where the rest of the Tank Gang were gathered around the base of Mount Wannahawkaloogie.

"How is he doing?" asked Bloat.

Peach gave a sigh, "Not good. He's not one to shout and scream about his feelings, but he feels things as deep as anyone I've ever met. He feels that he let Chuckles down."

"I think I know how he's feeling," replied Gurgle, "I've felt pretty much the same way before."

"Maybe you can get through to him then," Peach said, "I suspect that he thinks I'm just trying to be nice to him, but you have never been afraid of challenging him, he might appreciate it if you could let him know that he is not to blame for Chuckles' death."

"I can't do that! I can't go and challenge him when he gets like this!" Gurgle replied, "I'm not brave like Gill or Chuckles…was. Chuckles was the only one of us who could get through to Gill the last time he was like this."

"Well that's the whole point, isn't it?" said Bloat. "Chuckles isn't around anymore, and he was the only one of us who could get through to Gill that time when he lost his fin. And it's pretty clear that Chuckles meant far more to Gill than his right fin."

"Please Gurgle, at least try," said Peach.

Gurgle sighed, "All right, but it might not work."

Gill looked up as the gramma swam in front of the eye-socket of his skull. Gurgle looked at Gill for a moment, then looked down at the destroyed crown, then back at Gill once more. "There was nothing you could have done to save Chuckles," Gurgle said quietly, "we all know that you would have taken his place if you could have."

Gill turned his attention away from the gramma, looked up at the baggy containing the still body of the goldfish, then looked back at where Gurgle was watching him intently. "I would like to think that I would have," he said quietly - as he remembered how still with fear he had been, on his second escape attempt, when he had stared up at the open mouth of Nigel the pelican - "but there are times when I feel just as frightened as you do," he added.

"Well, I'm sure that you would have taken Chuckles' place if you could have," Gurgle repeated.

Gill looked up at Gurgle, who was still watching him intently. He believes in me so much, Gill realised. And he isn't like Peach, who only seems to see the best in me; Gurgle is hardly afraid to criticise my plans. "I appreciate that you believe in me so much," Gill replied quietly, "and I sincerely hope that I will not let you down," the way that I let Chuckles down, he added to himself.

"If I felt the way that I'm pretty sure you are feeling right now, I'd be screaming about how unfair this all is," Gurgle said.

"You don't know how I'm feeling," Gill replied quietly.

Gurgle folded his fins across his body, and stared at Gill for one long moment. "Oh yes I do," he replied, "it's called survivor's guilt. You feel guilty that you survived when Chuckles didn't. It's understandable, but completely pointless."

"What do you know?" Gill asked quietly, staring at the remains of the crown inside the base of his skull.

"I know what you all think of me, that I'm a neurotic worrywart who obsesses about germs all the time. Well, okay, that's part of who I am, but only part of it. And did it ever occur to you why?"

Gill gave him a questioning look, but said nothing, so Gurgle continued, "Back at Pet Palace, something happened to the tank containing the royal grammas. I don't know what it was, and I guess it doesn't matter now, but something went wrong with the cleaning system there. Some germs got into the tank, and infected the grammas there. It killed so many of them, but I was one of the few survivors. And I kept asking myself: why? Why did I survive when so many of the others died? Perhaps it was just luck, or fate or destiny…but there just didn't seem to be a reason. And I felt guilty about my own survival, even though that makes no sense…" Gurgle's voice trailed off.

"You're telling the truth?" asked Gill, turning around and staring the gramma in the eye.

"What reason would I have to lie?" asked Gurgle, "And when have I ever lied to you? And when have I ever been wrong?" he added.

"You are right, I am sorry," Gill replied.

"You know, I don't want to be you anymore," Gurgle said.

"What do you mean?" Gill asked.

Gurgle gave him a small smile, "You've always been everything that I wanted to be, and everything I know I am not," the gramma said quietly, "you've always seemed so brave and sure of yourself, whereas I've always been a coward, and so full of self-doubt."

Gill gave him a small smile, "I thought you were proud of being a coward," he replied.

Gurgle returned the smile, "I just said that to annoy Bloat," he said dismissively.

Gill sighed, "I really wish you would try to get on better with each other," he said, "we're all we have, and we've already lost one of us. Chuckles never really believed in my escape plans, and could never see the point of me trying to escape anyway, but he would always help me when I needed assistance, was always there…I guess that's what kin means," he added.

"Always being there for each other, no matter what," Gurgle said, giving the fish equivalent of a nod, "yes. And I will try to get on better with Bloat, but he can be so annoying at times…"

"And you can't?" Gill asked, giving Gurgle a knowing smile.

"Okay, maybe I can be annoying too," Gurgle admitted.

"Honestly," said Gill, "why do you always fight so much? If arguing was an Olympic Sport, you would all be gold medal winners."

Gurgle merely gave the fish equivalent of a shrug, and Gill sighed, "Okay, maybe not Jacques so much," he added, "but I suspect that that's only because he can't understand what we are talking about half the time."

"Okay," Gurgle said with a huge sigh, "I'll try to keep my concerns to myself in future."

"No," Gill replied, "no. Don't confuse caution with cowardice…I should not have been so dismissive of your concerns, they have turned out to be right, more often than not. And you were the first of us to be able to accept Chuckles' death. I think that, of all of us, only you, Peach and myself have been touched by death before," Gill remembered the dead bodies of his brothers and sisters, killed by the merciless liquid that William claimed was probably oil…he shuddered and turned his attention back to Gurgle, "…the others have never experienced death, and have not entirely come to terms with it yet." Gill gave Gurgle a very small smile, "they will need us to help them come to terms with Chuckles' death, and it might take them a while. I can't do this alone," Gill added, "I am going to need you to help me to be a leader, that is, if you still want be to be your leader."

"Of course we do," Gurgle replied, pointing at the remains of the crown, "we wouldn't have made that for you if we didn't think you should be our leader."

"Why do you need a leader?" asked Gill quietly, "I mean, we are stuck inside a tank, there's nowhere to lead you _to_."

"Because, as you say, the others are going to need someone to help them to come to terms with Chuckles' death, someone who is a leader. I can't do that," Gurgle added, "I don't have your brains or Peach's wisdom, but I do have the ability to accept unpleasant truths," he gave Gill another small smile, "I spend so much time worrying about the worst that might happen, that when it actually does happen, well, I'm kind of prepared for it. I guess there is an advantage to being a neurotic worrywart, after all."

"But why do you need a leader at all?" Gill asked again, "When we live in such a small and cramped space."

"Well, that's just it," Gurgle replied, "we need someone to lead us to the ocean, and surely you're the only one of us that can do that."

"But you criticise my plans more than anyone," Gill replied.

"And I've been right, too, haven't I?" Gurgle said, "But I'm sure that, sooner or later, you'll devise a plan that even _I_ can't find faults with."

"You really think so?" Gill asked.

"Of course," Gurgle replied.

"So will you help me to help the others to learn how to cope with what they are going through?" Gill asked.

"Of course," Gurgle replied, "we're kin, after all."


	17. Chapter 17

_Chapter 16 – After Chuckles_

 **Author's Notes: I really like Gurgle. It's far too uncommon for a character with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) to be portrayed as a genuinely nice guy in films.** _ **Finding Nemo**_ **was a brilliant film, focusing on Marlin and his son – but it did introduce some wonderful supporting characters, especially the Tank Gang, who never really got the character development that they deserve – hence this story. Enjoy!**

Over the next few weeks and months, the Tank Gang seemed to gradually come to terms with Chuckles' death. It could seem strange, how normally light-hearted and cheerful creatures sometimes became so angry and frustrated with how unfair life could be, but Gill understood that this was all part of the grieving process, and that all of those involved needed to grieve in their own way. Gurgle had been right – as usual – the Tank Gang had needed a leader who would listen to them, as they gradually worked through their feelings, until they finally reached a state of acceptance, and an understanding of the nature of life and death. Most of the time, Gill just listened in silence – he soon came to realise that being a leader sometimes did not even involve having to _do_ anything, but just to be there and listen, providing what support he could to the other members of the Tank Gang. Gurgle and Peach helped too, since they had already been through something similar, and so were far more accepting of death than the others. Peach had always seemed to be one of the more sensible members of the Tank Gang, so Gill was hardly surprised at her ability to help the others with what they were going through, but Gill was far more surprised at how well Gurgle was managing to help the rest of the Tank Gang work through their feelings. It seemed that there was more depth to the younger ones that Gill had originally assumed, and Gill sometimes wondered what had caused the rest of them to develop their rather eccentric personalities.

But he would not ask. Indeed, when not listening to each of the individual members of the Tank Gang trying to work through their feelings about Chuckles' death, he spent very little time with them. He was spending more and more time alone in the plastic skull, brooding, and trying to think up escape plans. It was only when he was dreaming up ways of trying to escape from his confinement that he felt truly alive, truly himself. Every three or four days, he would put a new escape plan into action – and it would invariably fail. But Gill was determined not to give up on his dream of making his way back to the ocean once more – even though the others were becoming increasing sceptical about his escape plans. And who could blame them, after all? He had come to expect Gurgle to be cynical concerning his escape plans, which indeed the gramma continued to be, but it was getting to the point now where even those who had initially been supportive of his plans, such as Bloat and Deb, were becoming increasing doubtful that Gill would ever be able to devise a way that they could escape from the tank.

At least the rest of the Tank Gang seemed to be getting on better since Chuckles' untimely demise. Gill supposed that there was nothing quite like shared grief to unite and bring together a small group in a show of solidarity. Even Bloat and Gurgle were not arguing nearly so much now; sometimes they even agreed with each other, and Gill sometimes wondered if that was because of the conversation that he had had earlier with Gurgle. But the more he thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed that that was the main reason, although it could be partially responsible. No, the main reason was almost certainly their shared grief over the loss of their goldfish friend. It was such a pity that it had taken something so extreme for them to develop their friendship, but Gill supposed that it was an ill tide indeed that caused no good at all. Yet even as the rest of the Tank Gang seemed to move closer to each other, so Gill felt increasingly far apart from the rest of them. The rest of the Tank Gang had noticed, but did not seem to know what to do to about it. One time, when he had been devising an escape plan, he had heard Gurgle and Bloat talking about him, as though they were unaware that Gill could hear them perfectly well from inside his skull. Gurgle had said that Gill never seemed to smile anymore, to which Bloat had replied that Gill had never been exactly Mr. Chatty at the best of times. Gurgle had agreed, but had said that before Chuckles had died, Gill used to smile sometimes, used to laugh, might even tell the occasional joke…

Gill had stopped listening at that point. Perhaps it was enough that Bloat and Gurgle were getting on with each other at last, even if it had taken Chuckles' death to bring this about. But Gill knew that they both had a point – he could not bring himself to smile, to laugh, to tell jokes. Indeed, he only truly felt anything at all when he was planning his escape from the tank – and the rest of them were clearly losing their patience with his many failed escape plans.

Nigel still came to visit from time to time, and the pelican had managed to make friends with a parrot, who was able to speak human. Gill had managed to convince the parrot to help him with his latest escape plan – with disastrous results. Gill suspected that he would never forget watching Doctor Sherman racing around his surgery, trying to catch a parrot that was flying always just beyond his reach, while the parrot spent the whole time squawking that the fish wanted to go back to the ocean. Gill suspected that Doctor Sherman's patients were not likely to forget that any time soon, either; but in time the parrot had been escorted, none too gently, out of the window, and had not been seen since. Then there had been that time, as the daylight hours slowly lengthened and Christmastime approached, when Doctor Sherman had placed a number of Christmas decorations all around the room, and Gill had attempted to use one of these decorations to help him with his latest escape plan – and had nearly lost his _other_ fin in the process. At least that time Doctor Sherman had noticed Gill in time, and returned him back to the tank before he became seriously hurt, but even Gill was starting to get frustrated with his lack of success in formulating effective escape plans.

Yet nothing else seemed to inspire Gill any more. All colour seemed to have drained from the world, it was as if he was fighting, every day, just to keep going, not to let depression entangle him within its ruthless tentacles. Food seemed tasteless – the fish food pellets that the Tank Gang were given had always seemed tasteless when compared to the rich variety of food out in the ocean, but since Chuckles' death, they no longer seemed to taste of anything at all. Still, he continued to eat, although that became simply a necessary chore, since Gill knew that it would do no one any good if he starved himself. Besides, he had promised Peach, and Gill would not break a promise to her for anything. At least eating was not actively unpleasant – the same could not be said for sleeping. Gill was spending less and less time asleep, as he was spending more and more time devising escape plans. But that was not the main reason for his not wanting to sleep – the main reason was the dreams, the nightmares that haunted his night-time slumber. There was a fish – large and intimidating, and apparently made out of oil, but nevertheless this fish looked like Chuckles. And this fish seemed to be the very essence of death – death and oil, the two foes that Gill felt helpless to fight against. It was that feeling of helplessness, of being unable to do anything to defeat a ruthless enemy, that haunted Gill's dreams, making him want to spend less and less time sleeping – except that Gill knew that if he did not get at least some sleep at night, he would only get ill – which would not help the rest of the Tank Gang in any way. And so life went on, unchanged, as Gill gradually withdrew further and further away from the rest of the Tank Gang.

That was until a fateful day, almost a year after Chuckles' death. Gill had been spending the day inside his skull, trying to develop his latest escape plan, when he had heard what sounded like a small fish being dropped into the tank. Gill had been momentarily distracted by this, but had quickly returned to his own thoughts, when it became clear that, whatever had caused that noise, it did not seem to present an immediate danger. Gill stared out of the socket of his skull, thinking about the filter. He was sure that, if there was some way that the filter could be blocked, then that could lead to the tank getting dirty and the dentist removing them from the tank, thereby enabling them to make their way out of the window, to the harbour, and eventually to the ocean. But Gill needed some way of blocking the filter – he himself was much too large to fit in there, and the only one of the Tank Gang that would easily fit was Jacques – and he would not be able to get out easily. No, there had to be another way. He had to get a pebble – it had to be the right size of pebble – he had to get it in the right place so that the filter would jam. But how? There had to be a way, some plan that he had not considered yet, some new possibility…

There was the sound of something hitting the side of the tank – again, and again. Ah, so the newcomer did not understand what a fish tank was. Well, Gill could sympathise with that – he remembered how confused he had felt when he had first been dropped into Mr. Elias' aquarium. The newcomer would have to adjust, just as Gill had had to do…

"…Daddy…"

It was a child's voice, and it sounded scared. Well, that was understandable enough, if the child had come from a pet store, then this big, fancy tank would seem to be quite unnerving, Gill supposed. He thought about swimming out to meet the child, but quickly stopped himself. The Tank Gang might not be the sanest of creatures in Australia, but they were some of the most friendly and welcoming creatures that Gill had ever known. They would surely be able to put the child at ease with their playful ways. Besides, Gill realised that he might scare the child, especially if the child were to see his scars. No, let the rest of the Tank Gang do what they were best at, let them welcome the child, let them be friendly and hospitable, whereas Gill would continue to do what _he_ did best, which was devise escape plans. Gill sighed quietly to himself – escape plans that always seemed to fail, but at least he had the determination to keep on trying to find a way back to the ocean where he was convinced that he truly belonged.

Gill could here Doctor Sherman talking to Barbara about dentistry, but that was irrelevant to his latest escape plan, so could largely be ignored. However, it was not so easy to ignore the dentist when, from the socket of his skull, he saw him coming right up close to the tank, and appeared to be staring intently at something obscured from Gill's own field of vision. Gill's curiosity was further piqued when he heard what the dentist said next: "Hello little fella."

Gill heard a gasp, and the sound of a fish swimming away, as though in fright. Well, the dentist could be quite scary if a fish had never seen something like him before, Gill supposed. However, it was what the dentist said next that really interested Gill: "Beauty, isn't he? I found that guy struggling for life out on the reef and I saved him…" then he started to talk about dentistry once more, but Gill did not bother to listen to what he was actually saying, for he was too distracted by the thought that the newcomer was from the reef – that meant that he was from the ocean, just like Gill himself! How long had it been since Gill had met a fish from the ocean? Gill had lost track of time, but it had been far too long, of that he was certain. Perhaps he would be able to reminisce about the ocean with this newcomer, perhaps finally a fish would understand why he was so desperate to go back to the ocean once more…

"Bubbles…my bubbles!" Gill heard from the other side of the tank, and rolled his eyes slightly. Good to know that some things never changed…

"He likes bubbles," that was Peach's voice. It sounded like she was talking to the newcomer. Well, that seemed sensible, at least; everyone else in the tank was well aware that Bubbles was pretty obsessive about bubbles.

"Aah! Ohh! No! Uhh!" Gill rolled his eyes again. A bit of an overreaction to Bubbles, that, even if the yellow tang could be infuriating at times.

" _Bonjour_!" said Jacques. Gurgle had told Gill that that literally meant 'good day' although it could also be translated as 'hello'. Regardless, it was very much like Jacques to be welcoming of other creatures.

"Aah!" Gill heard the child say again. Okay, if the kid was from the ocean, then these friendly but rather eccentric creatures could be difficult to understand, but hopefully they would be able to calm him down soon.

"Heh heh! Slow down, little fella. There's nothing to worry about," Gill relaxed a little when he heard Bloat say that. Surely the pufferfish's friendly smile could put almost anybody at their ease.

"Oh, he's scared to death," that was Deb, who sounded worried about the child.

"I wanna go home," the child sounded worried and upset, "do you know where my dad is?"

"Honey, your dad's probably back at the pet store," that was Peach, and it sounded as if she was trying to reassure the child.

"Pet store?" he replied uncertainly. Well, that made sense. Before Gill had been spirited away from the ocean, he had not known what a pet store was, either.

"Yeah, you know, like I'm from Bob's Fish Mart," Bloat replied.

Gill slowly made his way out of the skull, making sure to remain hidden from sight for the moment. He wanted to be able to see this child, who was starting to fascinate him.

"Pet Palace," said Gurgle.

"Fish-O-Rama," said Bubbles.

"Mail order," came Deb's cheerful voice.

"Ebay," said Peach.

"So which is it?" asked Gurgle, placing a companionable fin on the newcomer.

Gill moved closer to where the little gang were interrogating, in the friendliest way imaginable, the newest inhabitant of the tank. Making sure that he was still outside of their line of sight, Gill stared at the child. The boy appeared to be some type of clownfish, with attractive orange and white stripes. He also seemed to be confused by the Tank Gang's questioning. "I'm from the ocean," he replied uncertainly.

"Ah, the ocean," Gurgle replied calmly. About one second later, the gramma started to panic, quickly removing his fins from the child, "Aaah! He hasn't been decontaminated yet!" Jacques!"

Gill stifled a laugh, as he watched the gramma. It is so easy to think that you are nothing more than a neurotic fish who cannot stop worrying about germs, my friend, he thought, but we both know that there is far more to you than that.

Jacques swam towards Gurgle, " _Oui_ ," he said.

"Clean him!" Gurgle instructed, indicating the slightly confused child.

" _Oui_ ," Jacques repeated.

"Ocean!" Gurgle said, still panicking.

" _Ooh, la mer. Bon_ ," Jacques replied. Gill frowned, trying to remember what that meant. Ah, that was right, mer meant sea, and perhaps by extension the ocean, and bon just meant good.

The child was spun around by Jacques. The boy looked rather confused and slightly dazed, but unharmed. Jacques turned back to the still panicking Gurgle, "He is clean," he said.

Bubbles swam closer to the child, "Wow," he said, "The big blue. What's it like?"

As if I haven't told you a thousand times what it is like back in the ocean, Gill thought, rolling his eyes; but I suspect that many of you still suspect that I have been exaggerating about how huge and beautiful it can be.

The boy hesitated for a moment, "Big…and blue?" he said uncertainly.

"I knew it." Bubbles replied.

Deb approached the child, smiling in a friendly way, "Kid, if there's anything you need, just ask your auntie Deb," she said cheerfully, "That's me," she added. Then she indicated her reflection on the side of the tank, "Or, if I'm not around, you can always talk to my sister, Flo." Addressing her reflection, she said, "Hi, how are you?" Unsurprisingly, her reflection did not respond, so Deb turned back to the child, and, in a loud whisper, told the boy, "Don't listen to anything my sister says, she's nuts!" Deb then laughed.

Peach made a muffled comment from where she was attached to the side of the tank. Gill could not make out what she was saying, and neither could Bloat, apparently, as the pufferfish rolled his eyes, and said: "Can't hear you, Peach."

"I said we got a live one," said Peach, removing her top half from the side of the tank, and looking down towards Bloat and the other members of the Tank Gang.

"Yes!" exclaimed Gurgle.

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh Boy!" said Bloat excitedly.

"What have we got?" asked Deb, looking out of the tank towards the dentist and his patient.

"Root canal," Peach replied, "and by the looks of those x-rays it's not gonna be pretty."

Pained, panicked noises came from the patient; the Tank Gang continued to watch the dentist, fascinated by the procedure. The newcomer, understandably, seemed confused by everything that was going on around him.

"Rubber dam and clamp installed?" asked Bloat, as he continued to stare at the entertaining scene.

"Yep," replied Peach.

"What did he use to open?" asked Gurgle.

"Gator-Glidden drill," Peach replied, "he seems to be favouring that one lately."

There was a time, not so long ago, when I would not have had a clue about what any of them were talking about, Gill thought to himself, as he inched closer to get a better look at the newest arrival in the tank. Judging by the boy's expression, he had no idea what the Tank Gang were talking about, but he seemed to have lost a lot of the initial fear that he had experienced when he was first plunged into the tank.

"I can't see, Flo!" Deb exclaimed, as her reflection was limiting her view of the dentist's procedure.

"You're getting a little too…" the patient's muffled voice rapidly turned into a scream. The Tank Gang continued to watch the scene with every sign of interest and amusement.

"Now he's doing the Schilder technique," said Peach, possibly to inform Deb, since the humbug was having trouble seeing what was going on, due to her 'sister' obscuring her view.

"Oooh, he's using a Hedstrom file," said Bloat enthusiastically.

"That's not a Hedstrom file," Gurgle replied, sounding irritated, "That's a K-Flex."

"It's got a teardrop cross-section," Bloat replied, "clearly a Hedstrom."

"No, no. K-Flex," Gurgle replied.

And they had been getting on _so_ well up until that point, Gill thought to himself, rolling his eyes slightly.

"Headstrom!" Bloat insisted.

"K-Flex!" Gurgle replied, sounding more irritated this time.

"Headstro…" Bloat inflated with irritation, "There I go. A little help over here," he said, as he started to roll away from the others.

"I'll go deflate him," said Deb, in a resigned tone of voice. She swam after the pufferfish, as the others turned their attention back to the dentist and his patient. After a moment or two, there was the sound of Bloat deflating.

"All right," said the dentist to his patient, "go ahead and rinse."

"Ugh!" said Gurgle, "The human mouth is a disgusting place." True, thought Gill, but that has never stopped you from watching the dentist working on his patients' teeth and gums.

It was at that moment that Nigel crashed into the window. The Tank Gang looked towards him momentarily, without the slightest hint of fear.

"Hey, Nigel," said Peach calmly.

"What did I miss? Am I late?" the pelican asked.

"Root canal, and it's a doozy," replied Peach.

"Root canal, eh?" asked Nigel, "What did he use to open?"

"Gator-Glidden drill," Peach replied.

Nigel nodded slightly to himself, "He's been favouring that one," he said knowingly, "hope he doesn't get surplus sealer at the portal terminus…hello?" he added, upon seeing the newcomer.

The child merely gasped. Not really surprising, Gill thought to himself, I felt much the same way when I first met Nigel.

But the pelican was clearly trying to be as friendly as possible, doubtlessly attempting to alleviate they child's natural wariness, "Who's this?" he asked.

"New guy," Deb replied, and laughed a little. The Tank Gang swam around the child, doubtlessly trying to provide him with comfort and reassurance that he was safe.

"The dentist took him off the reef," Gurgle told Nigel.

The pelican took a closer look at the newcomer, and smiled at him, "An outie," he said, "from my neck of the woods, eh? Sorry if I ever took a snap at you. Fish gotta swim, birds gotta eat," he winked at the child in a friendly way.

But a moment later, the pelican gasped, as the dentist was coming towards him in a way that was not at all friendly, "Hey, no, no, no!" They're not your fish. They're my fish. Come on, go! Go on, shoo! The dentist grabbed onto Nigel's beak and escorted him away from the Tank Gang. Flapping his wings, Nigel knocked some objects down off of the counters before he was forced back out away from the dentist's surgery.

Gill smiled silently to himself. That was not so very different from my second escape attempt, he thought to himself. Nevertheless, that pelican still keeps coming back to see how we are doing, and if we have found a way to escape yet – and it's only a matter of time until we will!

The dentist picked something up, examined it and frowned slightly. "Oh, the picture broke," he sounded disappointed, but a moment later, showed the picture to his patient, "This here's Darla," he told him, "she's my niece," he added. "She's going to be eight next week." The dentist made his way over towards the tank. Most of the fish swam away from him, but the newcomer stayed where he was, as the dentist showed him the picture of his niece, "Hey little fella," he said, "Say help to your new mummy. She'll be here Friday to pick you up. You're her present. Shh, shh, shh!" he added, "It's our little secret."

The dentist turned his attention away from the tank, and back to his patient, "Well, Mr. Tucker, while that sets up I'm going to see a man about a wallaby" he said. He left the broken picture in front of the confused newcomer, as he made his way to the other side of the room.

The others slowly swam up to where the newcomer was still uncertainly looking at the picture.

"Oh, Darla," Bloat said, sounding remorseful, and just a little worried.

"What? What's wrong with her?" the child asked.

"She wouldn't stop shaking the bag," Gurgle explained sadly.

"Poor Chuckles," Bubbles agreed.

Deb had started to sob, "He was her present last year," she said.

"Hitched a ride on the porcelain express," said Bloat.

"She's a fish killer," Peach said.

Of course, the child started to panic again upon hearing that, "I can't go with that girl!" he insisted, "I have to get back to my dad!"

There was a sucking sound, and the child gasped as he was pulled into a plastic tube. "Aaah! Daddy! Help me!" the boy screamed, as it appeared that he had become stuck inside the tube.

"Oh, he's stuck!" said Gurgle, moving towards the trapped boy. The Tank Gang seemed to want to help to free the child, but Gill was well aware that their good intentions might only make the situation worse. No, now was the time, perhaps, to make an entrance.

"Nobody touch him!" Gill insisted, swimming into the child's line of view. Slowly, reluctantly, the rest of the Tank Gang swam away from the trapped child, "Nobody touch him," Gill repeated.

The boy stopped struggling momentarily, as he had a good look at Gill. Calmly, Gill returned the look. Most of the child's body was trapped inside the tube, but Gill could clearly see his large, scared eyes poking out, as the child asked Gill: "Can you help me?"

Gill examined the boy for a moment. He was stuck tight in the tube, and it was clear that he would be the only one who could get himself out of his predicament. Besides, if William had taught Gill anything, it was that it was better to teach another how to do things for himself, rather than to always do things for him. "No," said Gill, "You got yourself in there, you can get yourself out," that had come out harsher than he had intended it to, even though Gill knew that he was correct.

"Gill…" Peach began.

"I just wanna see him do it, okay?" Gill interrupted her, and then turned his attention back to the boy once more, "Calm down," he instructed. "Alternate wiggling your fins and your tail."

"I can't," the trapped child said, "I have a bad fin."

Interesting, thought Gill, this child is getting more interesting by the moment. He gave the boy a very small smile, "Never stopped me," he said, and then swam in front of the boy, so that the child could get a good look at what remained of his scarred, right fin. There was a moment of silence as the child stared at Gill's side, and the boy seemed to realise, at that very moment, that just because he was disabled, did not mean that he was helpless. "Just think about what you need to do," Gill added encouragingly.

The boy seemed to be concentrating, thinking about everything that Gill had told him to do. He was indeed alternating wiggling his fins and his tail. It seemed to be working. There was a moment of tension, with the rest of the Tank Gang watching him nervously.

"Come on," said Bloat.

And then the moment was over. The boy had managed to extricate himself from his confinement, without any help from anyone else, except for their words of encouragement and support. The boy looked at Gill, as though desperate for approval from him.

"Perfect," Gill replied, the single word seeming to fill the child up with pride and self-confidence.

The rest of the Tank Gang seemed relieved that the child was, for the moment at least, safe and well. "Yay!" said Bubbles.

"You did it!" Gurgle added encouragingly.

"Good squirming!" said Deb, laughing to herself.

But Gill took little notice of the younger ones, as he swam towards where Peach was watching the whole thing from the side of the tank. "Wow," she said, as Gill swam up to her, "From the ocean. Just like you, Gill."

"Yeah…" Gill said quietly, as he stared intently at the recently freed fish. It was probably his imagination, but he was almost sure that he could smell the ocean on the boy. Of course, Jacques had already cleaned him, so that was unlikely, but still, the thought of being close to another fish from the ocean made him feel like smiling for the first time in way too long.

Peach chuckled slightly to herself upon seeing that, "I've seen that look before," she said knowingly. What are you thinking about?"

That this child might just be the solution to all of our problems, Gill thought to himself. If I can get him to trust me, we can get him back to the ocean where he belongs, and we can all accompany him. If I can get him to trust me…

"I'm thinking," Gill replied quietly, "tonight, we give the kid a proper reception."

Gill watched as Bloat asked the child: "So kid, you got a name or what?"

The child looked around at the Tank Gang, but his fear and wariness of them seemed to have melted away now. "Nemo," the boy replied, "I'm Nemo."


	18. Chapter 18

_Chapter 17 – Nemo's Initiation_

 **Author's Notes: Merry Christmas, or other seasonally appropriate holiday wishes.**

 **Glad you like my story and my writing style. I've spent a great deal of time writing and reading over the years, and I've done some courses in Creative Writing – these help, but really, there's no short-cut to becoming a writer – it's just practice – lots and lots of practice. Of course, it's Andrew Stanton who is the true genius here – what I'm hoping to do with this story is to make the Tank Gang, especially Gill, even more likable by giving them an interesting backstory. I do intend to work on the bond between Gill and Nemo, which really starts here, at Nemo's initiation – enjoy!**

"What do you think?" asked Gurgle, as he swam in front of Gill, and indicted his recent invention.

"Um…interesting…" said Gill, staring at what Gurgle was wearing. It was some form of clothing, fashioned out of imitation leaves and stalks, and it was covering some of the lower part of Gurgle's body. Gurgle swayed slightly, so that Gill could admire it.

"It's a kilt," he explained, as Gill continued to stare at it uncertainly, "in Scotland, the highland tribes used to wear this sort of thing, although they hardly ever wear them now, except for the tourists, or on special occasions. At least, that's what Chuckles told me…" the gramma's voice trailed off, and he looked down.

Gill smiled at him, and put a companionable fin around him, "We all miss Chuckles," he assured him, "but right now, it's Nemo we should be thinking about."

"And I am," Gurgle said quickly, "I mean, the Scottish people mostly wear this sort of thing for special occasions, and Nemo's initiation is a special occasion, so I thought…" his voice trailed off again.

"I understand," said Gill, "and you are right, of course. But I have to admit that that thing looks more like some kind of Hawaiian skirt to me," he added.

"Really?" Gurgle asked, looking down at himself uncertainly.

Gill chuckled slightly, and gave him a small smile, "I suits you," he assured the gramma, "it's good to see you all getting into the mood. Have Bubbles and Bloat finished making their headdresses yet?"

"Well, Bloat has, and it looks good," Gurgle began, "but when Bubbles started to make his, he got distracted when Deb opened the chest which let out the bubbles, and then we could not get him to go back to making his headdress, as that would mean leaving his bubbles, and he did not want to do that."

Why me? Gill asked himself, rolling his eyes slightly. "So what did you do then?" he asked Gurgle.

"It was Deb's idea," the gramma replied, "she said that Bubbles could just wear a shell, and that would not take any time to make, we just had to find one, and Bubbles could spend as much time by the chest as he wanted to, until it was time for the party to begin."

"It's not really a party," muttered Gill, "still, that was a good idea," he added.

"Um, Gill…?" asked the gramma uncertainly.

"No, I am not covered in germs," Gill muttered, rolling his eyes.

"No, it's not that," said Gurgle, "it's the kid, Nemo. You don't think that this is going to be too scary for him, do you?"

"It has to be a _little_ bit scary," Gill replied, "we have to welcome him properly, have to make sure that he knows that we are all here to look out for him, and that won't work unless it is a little bit scary."

"I'm still worried about him," Gurgle admitted.

"I know you are. We all are," Gill added, "and we don't have much time. At the top of Mount Wannahawkaloogie the kid will be welcomed as one of us. Don't worry," he added.

Then Gill turned his attention to where Peach and Deb were about hallway up Mount Wannahawkaloogie, on either side of the lava path. "Don't worry," Peach said reassuringly to Deb, "you will be fine, I'll make sure of it."

"How's the practicing going?" Gill asked, swimming towards them.

"Oh, I'm so excited about this!" exclaimed Deb, "It's been so long since we welcomed another member of the Tank Gang! But I'm so afraid that I will do it wrong!" she added.

"It's easy," Peach assured her, "just do what I do. When the boy comes swimming up the volcano, you just fan him with the leaf, like this," she demonstrated by waving her leaf up and down a couple of times, "then you go and join the others at the top of the volcano," Peach added.

"But Flo has been worrying that she will get this wrong!" Deb said, "She's worrying that she will mess up the whole ceremony."

"Oh, dear, has she?" asked Peach, keeping her voice level, "And what have you been telling her to do?"

"Oh, just to do what you and I do," said Deb.

"You will both be fine," Gill assured them, "I mean that all three of you will be fine," he amended quickly, when he saw Deb pointing an accusing leaf towards her reflection.

Gill looked up towards the top of Mount Wannahawkaloogie, where Gurgle was joining Bloat and Bubbles. The yellow tang did indeed have a shell on his head, but at least Bloat was wearing a headdress. Gill swam towards the top of the volcano to join them.

"Can I be master of ceremonies again?" Bloat asked excitedly, "Can I Gill, please, can I?" Bloat practically begged.

"You were master of ceremonies last time," Gurgle replied sulkily, "it's someone else's turn."

Gill rolled his eyes again, "Can you two please refrain from arguing with each other until we've officially welcomed the kid as one of us?" he asked.

"Okay," Gurgle muttered, "but it's still someone else's turn to be master of ceremonies."

" _I'll_ be master of ceremonies," said Gill, "if that meets with both of your approval."

"I guess so," said Gurgle grudgingly.

"I really wanted to be master of ceremonies," Bloat muttered.

"You can be Brother Bloat again," Gill said, "you can be the first to welcome him, and then he will swim through the bubbles to me."

"Well, as long as I can be Brother Bloat," Bloat agreed reluctantly.

"Does that meet with your approval?" Gill asked, turning towards Gurgle.

"Yes, fine, okay," the gramma replied, "but I still say that this is all going to be too scary for the kid."

"We can always stop it if it becomes too scary," Gill assured him, "but I don't think we will need to. The boy is from the ocean, and there are plenty of dangers out there in the ocean, certainly far more than there are in this tank."

"Yeah," said Bloat, "but it's not the danger _within_ the tank that we need to be worrying about," he pointed a fin towards the picture of Darla, holding the plastic bag which contained the dead body of Chuckles.

Gill looked at it briefly, then quickly looked back at Bloat, "Nothing like that is going to happen to anyone else," he assured him.

"How can you be sure?" Gurgle asked.

I can't, thought Gill to himself, all I can do is try to plan to make sure that nothing terrible happens. "Uh, it's about time you started practicing chanting once more," said Gill, "the kid will be here soon. I'll get Jacques to go and fetch him, as he's the smallest of us, so is the least likely to frighten the kid."

As Jacques walked off to fetch Nemo, Bubbles, Bloat and Gurgle started chanting, just as they had done on the day when they themselves had been welcomed as members of the Tank Gang. Gill swam below the summit of the volcano, where he could stay hidden until it was time for Nemo to come to him. As he waited, he could not stop himself from wondering, not for the first time, if Gurgle might be right, and this might be too scary for the boy. Still, they did not have much time, and he had to get the child to trust him. I'm doing this for the boy, Gill told himself; this will also help me to return to the ocean once more, but I'm doing this for the child. Still, he could not stop himself from feeling just a twinge of guilt that he would be using the boy for his own desires, even if this would also help the child to get back to the ocean where he belonged.

"Ha-who-wah-he- _ha_ -ho-ho-ho…" the sound came from Bloat, Gurgle and Bubbles. Gill looked around the volcano, and saw that Jacques was indeed leading the child towards them. The boy had seemed slightly scared at first, but now he appeared to be more curious than frightened. Jacques moved to the side, just as Nemo reached the base of Mount Wannahawkaloogie, and indicated to him that he was required to swim up it. Still looking uncertain, the boy slowly swam up the volcano.

"Ha-who-wah-he- _ha_ -ho-ho-ho…" this continued as both Deb and Peach fanned Nemo with a leaf, as the boy slowly swam up towards where Bloat, Gurgle and Bubbles were waiting for him at the summit.

When Nemo finally reached the top of the volcano, Gill himself swam upwards so that he could gradually come into the boy's field of vision. Nemo still seemed slightly wary, but more curious about what was going on around him. Gurgle, Bloat and Bubbles, still chanting, swam slightly closer to Gill, all of them watching the confused clownfish. Gill flicked out his good left fin.

"Hoo!" they said.

Silence suddenly replaced the chanting.

Gill stared directly at Nemo, and spoke in a low and ever slow slightly menacing tone: "State your name."

"…Nemo…" said the boy, sounding uncertain and just a little bit frightened.

"Brother Bloat: Proceed," Gill instructed. He backed away slightly, allowing Bloat to play his role of Brother Bloat once more.

For a moment, Bloat merely stared at Nemo. Then, in a booming voice, he said: "Nemo!" moving his fins around in a dramatic gesture, "Newcomer of orange and white! You have been called forth to the summit of Mount Wannahawkaloogie to join with us in the fraternal bonds…" he took a big breath, "…of Tankhood!"

Nemo stared up at him in puzzlement, "Huh?" he said.

"We want you in our club, kid," Peach translated for him.

"Really?" Nemo seemed pleased, Gill noticed. Also, his initial fear seemed to have evaporated now, as he was being reassured that he was with friends who wanted to help him and to welcome him as one of their own.

"If!" Bloat continued, in a tone which was louder than it needed to be – Bloat really liked to play his role of Brother Bloat, and was clearly going to make the most of his opportunity to overact, "You are able to swim through…" he paused in a very dramatic manner, "the Ring of Fire!"

There was a pregnant pause, in which nothing happened.

Nemo looked around himself briefly, as though wondering if he was supposed to do or say something.

The moment had been ruined; and Bloat had clearly been enjoying himself so much, Gill thought, as he tried not to laugh at Bloat's rather irritated expression. Out of the corner of his mouth, Bloat whispering towards Jacques, "Turn on the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire! You said you could do it…"

Jacques, who was positioned on a knob at the base of Mount Wannahawkaloogie, looked up at Bloat in incomprehension for a moment, then seemed to suddenly realise what he was required to do. He walked across the knob, causing bubbles to emerge from the top of the volcano, just as he had done during the previous initiation of the other members of the Tank Gang – that seemed such a long time ago now.

"The Ring of Fire!" Bloat exclaimed, as though determined to overact, even it was slightly later than he had initially intended.

Of course, Bubbles wanted to get as close to the rising bubbles as possible. "Bubbles, let me…" he began, only for Deb, who had recently joined the others at the top of the volcano, to silence him with a leaf that she waved in front of him. "Oww…" muttered Bubbles.

The chanting started again, and Bloat swam back to his previous position. Gill swam forward, so that he was in front of the others, and directly across the summit of the volcano from Nemo. The child seemed to be a bit confused, but Gill locked eyes with him, as though to reassure him that everything was safe, that nothing bad could happen to him within this tank. The others were also grinning with encouragement, watching the boy with interest and hope in their eyes.

"Isn't there another way?" Peach asked in protest, "He's just a boy!"

Deb covered her own eyes as though in fear, and then used the leaf to cover the eyes of her reflection, as though she also did not want Flo to witness what was going to happen next. There was the high-pitched sound of Jacques wailing from near the base of the volcano.

But the boy did not seem to be paying much attention to the other members of the Tank Gang, as he locked eyes with Gill. Gill gave the fish equivalent of a nod, letting Nemo know once more that there was nothing to be afraid of, that he was safe and with friends. All he had to do was to swim through the bubbles from one side of the volcano to the other, and now was the time to do just that.

The child seemed to be preparing himself for the ordeal ahead of him – he swam fast, thrashing his tail as he swam through the bubbles. And in a moment, it was over. He bumped into Gill on the other side of the volcano, and looked up at him, as though worried that he had done something wrong. But Gill just smiled down at him, to reassure the child for a moment, before holding him up, as though he was some kind of trophy, using his good left fin. He addressed the other members of the Tank Gang, who were all eagerly watching the two of them. "From this moment on, you will now be known as Sharkbait!" he informed all of the Tank Gang – including their newest and most recently initiated member.

"Sharkbait, oh-ha-ha!" came the chanting.

"Welcome, Brother Sharkbait!" said Gill.

"Sharkbait, oh-ha-ha!" they repeated.

"Enough with the Sharkbait," said Gill.

"Sharkbait!" Gurgle continued, then as the others glared at him, his voice became quieter, "Oh, ba-ba-doo…?" he finished uncertainly.

Letting go of the newly christened Sharkbait, Gill turned back to the rest of the Tank Gang, "Okay, Sharkbait's one of us now, agreed?" he said.

"Agreed," they all chorused; Gill knew that there would not be any objection – at least, not to _that_ part…

"We can't send him off to his death. Darla's coming in five days, so what are we gonna do?" Gill realised that he was feeling more determined, more… _alive_ than he had since Chuckles had been part of the Tank Gang.

The Tank Gang, however, merely stared back at him blankly.

Hopeless, thought Gill, totally hopeless. "I'll tell you what we're gonna do: we're gonna get him outta here. We're gonna help him escape," said Gill enthusiastically.

"Escape? Really?" the clownfish asked.

"We're all gonna escape!" Gill added.

"Gill, please, not another one of your escape plans!" groaned Gurgle, first putting a fin to his head, then folding his fins and staring back at Gill.

Gill had expected Gurgle to say something like that; however, the rest of the Tank Gang seemed to feel the same way. Deb looked down at her leaf, and sounded apologetic as she said: "Sorry, but they, they just, they never work…" her voice trailed off.

And you were initially supportive of my escape plans, thought Gill, stifling a sigh. Still, she did have a point; Gill has lost count of the number of failed escape plans he had devised since being imprisoned within the tank. He could hardly blame Deb for becoming sceptical of his plans.

"Yeah. Why should this be any different?" asked Bloat.

Gill smiled, and pointed towards the still slightly confused clownfish, "Because we've got him," he said.

"Me?" Nemo asked, sounding uncertain, but also hopeful.

Gill turned so that he could put his good fin encouragingly around the clownfish, and gently pointed him in the direction of the filter. "You see that filter?" he asked.

"Yeah?" Nemo asked, giving the fish equivalent of a nod.

Gill grinned in determination as he continued: "You're the only one who can get in and out of that thing," he said. "What we need you to do is take a pebble inside and jam the gears." Gill had been trying to figure out a way of doing this for months; now at last there seemed to be a way, "You do that and this tank's gonna get filthier and filthier by the minute." Gurgle will probably complain about that and curl up in ball, whining about germs, Gill thought to himself, but this clownfish is far more important, right now, than Gurgle's complaining. He continued: "Pretty soon, the dentist'll have to clean the tank himself. And when he does, he'll take us out of the tank, put us in the individual baggies, then we roll ourselves down the counter, out of the window, off the awning, into the bushes, across the street and into the harbour!" Gill chuckled, feeling a huge sense of pride in his latest escape plan. "It's foolproof!" he proclaimed. He turned to where the rest of the Tank Gang were watching him, "Who's with me?" he asked.

"Aye!" said Bloat.

"Aye!" said Jacques.

"Aye!" said Deb.

"Aye!" said Bubbles.

"I think you're nuts!" Gurgle told him.

Gill sighed. It would be nice if, just once, Gurgle could be a tiny bit supportive of his escape plans.

Gurgle turned towards Nemo, and spoke apologetically to him: "No offence, kid," he said, watching him carefully, "but, um…you're not the best swimmer."

Gill followed Gurgle's line of vision. The royal grammar was staring at the kid's underdeveloped right fin, watching the inefficient way that the kid was using it to swim, Gill realised. Sometimes, Gurgle could be quite insightful, in those rare moments when he was neither panicking nor worrying. Still, the Tank Gang needed to do _something_ to help the kid, and right now, this was the only plan that they had. "He's fine, he can do this," Gill told Gurgle, dismissing his concerns with a wave of his good left fin, before turning his attention back to the clownfish once more, "So, Sharkbait," he said encouragingly, "what do you think?"

Nemo stared up at the filter, and smiled, "Let's do it," he said.


	19. Chapter 19

_Chapter 18 – The Mentor_

 **Author's Notes: Happy New Year. As requested, here is the next chapter, complete with bonding between Gill and Nemo. Enjoy!**

"I won't let you harm the child."

Gill looked out of the eye socket of his skull, to where Gurgle was staring back at him defiantly. It was still early morning, and the rest of the Tank Gang were sensibly still sleeping. Gill stared back at Gurgle in silence for a long moment. "Oh?" he asked at last.

"How much do you want to get out of this tank?" Gurgle, asked, staring at Gill intently.

"What do you mean?" Gill asked suspiciously.

"We all know that you are not afraid to take risks in order to escape from here. Well, that's your choice. But to put the child at risk, that's something else entirely." Gurgle swallowed, but did not back away, "What you're planning…" the gramma began, "I'll stop you," he said.

Gill inched towards him, and Gurgle backed away slightly. The gramma was as nervous and fearful as ever, but there was also something else, something extra in his eyes, a determination that Gill had not seen before. Gill was beginning to suspect that he had underestimated Gurgle. "And what do you plan to do, exactly?" Gill asked.

Gurgle swallowed again, "I won't let you go through with this plan," he said.

"You really think that you can stop me?" Gill asked.

"Or die trying!" Gurgle replied.

Gill stared at him for another long moment. Gurgle fidgeted nervously under Gill's gaze, but did not swim away. Gill was secretly impressed, "Brave words from a self-confessed coward," said Gill, giving him a small, wry smile. "You know as well as I do that you are not tough enough to fight me." It was not a boast, but a simple statement of fact; Gill was one of the larger fish in the tank, and Gurgle was rather small and wiry.

"I'm serious, Gill," Gurgle said, looking down nervously, "no matter how crazy your escape plans were, you never risked any of our lives, you were always the one to take the risks, and I always respected you for that."

"You've never exactly respected my escape plans," Gill replied.

"No, maybe not, but at least you never got other members of the Tank Gang to risk their lives for your latest crazy scheme," Gurgle replied, "and they would have done, you know they would have done. Deb and Bloat and some of the others, if you had asked them to, well, I'm pretty sure they would have been prepared to take any risk that you asked them to."

"Maybe, at one time," Gill said thoughtfully, "I'm not so sure now."

"The kid wants to impress you," Gurgle said quietly, "as far as he is concerned, you are the greatest thing since the ocean itself. He wants to prove himself, to show that he can do what you want him to," Gurgle sighed, "you saw his fin. He can't swim well. This plan of yours…" Gurgle sighed sadly, "you'll get him killed," Gurgle's voice was little more than a whisper now, "and that will kill you. And that won't help the rest of us."

"You're being very pessimistic," Gill replied, "even more than normal," he added, "and I'm pretty sure that if something did happen to me, you would all survive."

"Survive maybe, but not thrive," Gurgle replied.

Gill sighed, "What do you want, exactly?" he asked.

"Reconsider this plan. Come up with a different plan, one that does not involve putting the child in danger. It's not worth the risk," said Gurgle.

Gill sighed again, realising that how he dealt with Gurgle's concerns would determine the type of leader he was. William had taught him, when facing trouble, to use reason first, failing that, to use cunning and guile, and only if that also failed, then to resort to physical violence. But Gurgle did have a point, and so, surely, could be reasoned with. Gill gave the gramma a small smile, "Look, if you can think of a better plan, a safer plan, well, I'm more than willing to listen to it, and to consider it," he said.

Gurgle stared back at him for a moment, and then looked down, "You're the genius," he mumbled.

"This isn't about me!" Gill snapped back, "It's about Sharkbait!"

"I'm glad you realise that," Gurgle replied quietly.

Gurgle was really starting to annoy Gill, not least because he secretly suspected that the gramma might be right, "I think I preferred you when you were a whining coward complaining about germs on the base of this tank!" he snapped.

"You taught me courage," Gurgle replied, giving him a very small smile, "when the need is great enough."

"Seems I taught you too well," muttered Gill, but he returned the smile.

"Thanks," Gurgle replied.

They seemed to have reached a kind of truce, which meant that at least Gurgle would be willing to listen to Gill's words. Gill swam out of his skull, and put a companionable fin around Gurgle, "Look, I don't want to fight you," he began, "I've always said that us fighting amongst ourselves is pointless, but it's worse now, when we should be thinking about Sharkbait and how to get him to safety."

"But that's exactly what I want!" Gurgle protested.

"Yes, I know," Gill tried to calm him down, "look, we both want the same thing, but we are swimming at it from opposite angles. I want to get him out of here, and that means devising an escape plan so that he won't meet the same fate as Chuckles," almost involuntarily, Gill found himself momentarily looking up at the photo of Darla and the dead body of Chuckles. Shivering slightly, he turned his attention back to Gurgle, "and you are right, my friend, as usual," he added. "There's a danger in this plan, but the danger is not so great as that of us not doing anything. There's always a danger, that can't be avoided, no matter what we do. The irony here is that we have to put Sharkbait in danger in order to save him, unless you can think of something better to try," said Gill.

"Come up with a safer plan, one that doesn't put Sharkbait in danger," Gurgle replied. He was practically pleading now, his eyes glowing with unshed tears.

Gill found himself feeling more than a little sympathy towards the gramma – although there was no doubt that Gurgle could be an annoying complainer at times, usually there was a pretty good reason for his complaining, and he had always been rather protective of those members of the Tank Gang who were weaker or in some way more vulnerable than himself - first Jacques, now Sharkbait. As far as Gill was aware, Gurgle had never been intentionally cruel. Gill smiled at the gramma, "I'll try to think of something, but I honestly feel that this is the only plan that will work," Gill replied, "as I said before, if you can think of a better plan, a safer plan, I'll gladly consider it."

Gurgle looked down. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

"You don't need to be sorry," Gill assured him, "never apologise for feeling compassion. It's nothing to be ashamed of. But compassion alone is not enough. We have to do something practical to help Sharkbait."

"He looks up to you," said Gurgle quietly, "oh, he really likes the rest of us, but it's you that he adores. Help him, please Gill."

"How?" asked Gill.

"Train him, mentor him," Gurgle said, "teach him how to swim even with his little fin, show him how he can compensate for it, just as you have done."

"I'm not sure if I should do that," Gill admitted, "I've not really spent much time around children, and I'm not sure if I will be any good with them."

"Are you afraid?" Gurgle asked.

Gill gave him a small smile, "Yes, a bit," he admitted, "afraid that he will realise that I'm not this wonderful fish that he seems to think I am. Afraid that he will realise just what a flawed fish I am."

"Is that worth risking his life over?" Gurgle asked quietly.

"You know, there's a lot more to you than I first imaged," Gill said, giving a small chuckle.

"There is to most fish, I think you'll find," Gurgle replied, "but it can't hurt to try, can it Gill? The child is worth it, isn't he?"

Gill smiled in response, "No, it can't hurt to try," he said, "I think I'll go and see if he's awake yet," he added, swimming away from the gramma, and considering carefully everything that he had said.

It did not take him long to locate Sharkbait – the clownfish was staring out of the tank, a wistful expression in his eyes. Gill had seen that expression on his own reflection more times than he could count – it was the feeling of longing to be back in the ocean, the loneliness of a trapped fish that could never be entirely happy in a box. Gill swam slowly towards him.

The clownfish turned around slowly, and gave Gill a nervous smile. Gill realised that he had no idea of how to go about mentoring or training the child, and did not even really know what to say to him. Feeling a little awkward, he swam alongside the clownfish, and stared out of the side of the tank. For a moment, he was silent, unsure of what to say.

"Gill…" the child said uncertainly.

Gill turned to face him, and gave him a small smile. He looked down for a moment, and said quietly: "Are you happy here?"

Sharkbait looked at him uncertainly, and was silent for a long moment. "Uh…" he said after an awkward pause, "everyone in this tank has been very kind to me, very welcoming…" his voice trailed off as he met Gill's knowing gaze.

You're not answering the question asked, Gill thought to himself; you're answering a completely different question1. I know why – you don't want to seem ungrateful when everyone here has been friendly and welcoming. "It's not enough, though, is it?" Gill said quietly.

Sharkbait gave him a small smile, "Perhaps it would be, if I had met you all back in the ocean…" his voice trailed off again.

"I know," said Gill quietly, "being trapped in a box, once you have been out in the wonders and dangers of the ocean, it could never be enough." He turned away from the child, and indicated where the rest of the Tank Gang were waking up, swimming and – predictably – arguing with each other. "They don't understand," he said very quietly, so that only the clownfish could hear, "it's not their fault. They were born in captivity. Living in a box is normal for them, they think that that's how a fish can live." Gill sighed, "And perhaps if a fish has spent all of his life inside a box, then maybe he can be content with living in captivity. But it's not for fish that have swum in the wonders of the ocean," he gave Sharkbait a knowing smile, "it's not for fish like you and me," he added.

"It's as if you could read my mind," said the clownfish, sounding impressed.

"No," said Gill quietly, "but you're expression is easy enough to read. I've read it on my own reflection, more times than I can count."

"I miss my Dad," the child said quietly, "just before I was taken, we had a row. I said that I hated him," Sharkbait admitted.

Ouch, thought Gill. Words spoken in haste, quickly repented by the sound of it - and yet there was no way that the damage caused by those words could be undone. That meant that it was even more important to get Sharkbait back to his Dad now, so that he could apologise to him. Gill looked intently at Sharkbait, "Did you mean it?" he asked, his voice incredibly quiet now.

"That I hated him?" the child asked, looking down sadly.

"Yes," Gill replied.

The child was silent for a moment, looking down awkwardly, "At that moment, I think I did," he said at last, "he's always been so overprotective, such a worrier, as though I can't do anything. And in that moment…I'd done everything that he'd said, but he still would not let me do anything, did not want me go off to school with my friends…" his voice trailed off once more.

"Tell me all about your Dad," said Gill.

For the next hour or so, Sharkbait told Gill all about Marlin, how he was terrified of the ocean, and avoided leaving the anemone if he could help it. The clownfish told Gill about how Marlin tried to prevent him from going too far from the anemone, how his overprotectiveness could be stifling, when there was so much wonder and beauty out there in the ocean, and all Sharkbait wanted to do was experience it for himself.

And Gill listened. He did not just listen to the words that were said, but also to the words that were _unsaid –_ the words behind the words – Sharkbait missed his Dad, understood that his overprotectiveness was – to some extent at least, understandable. And he loved his Dad as much as his Dad loved him, and now he was worried that he would be separated from his Dad forever.

The boy did not mention his Mum, or any siblings, although Gill knew that clownfish typically had even more young than moorish idols. Gill had a pretty good idea of what might have happened to the rest of Sharkbait's family – it was the same story that he had heard a dozen or more times, only the details changed – there had been some kind of predator, patient and persistent, that had devoured them, leaving only Sharkbait and his Dad as the sole survivors – and Sharkbait's Dad became so terrified that something similar would happen to his surviving child, that he had tried to imprison him in a bubble of love to keep him safe. Gill tried to recall everything that he could about clownfish – there was the stereotype that they were supposed to be funny, although in actual fact they were no funnier than any other type of fish. More importantly, they lived in anemones. The anemones kept them safe, deterred predators by giving them nasty stings, and in return, the clownfish kept the anemones clean and tidy. Gill remembered that there had been a family of clownfish not far from his own home growing up – he had sometimes seen the clownfish children playing around the anemone, but generally they had been polite but shy fish who had kept themselves to themselves, never venturing far from the safety that the anemone provided for them.

Gill watched Sharkbait carefully, as he continued to tell him about how overprotective his Dad had been. And I know why, thought Gill – clownfish do not stray far from the safety of the anemone if they can help it, but even the shyest, most introverted of clownfish would have to leave its safety sooner or later, if only for a moment. And a moment would be all that a predator would need. There was no point in blaming or vilifying the predator – its wants and needs were understandable, the desire live, to feed – but the damage done could be huge indeed. It was perhaps worse for the survivors, who could find adjusting to life without their loved ones unbearable. Some just succumbed to depression, and let the ocean take them as it had taken their families. Some, such as Sharkbait's Dad, however, still had survivors that they needed to live for, and so had become so overprotective that their children felt frustrated by their lack of freedom.

"…And even if the snail _had_ charged while I was at the petting zoo, it wasn't as if it would have harmed me," Sharkbait said, "snails are not exactly fast. But my Dad just worries so much, even when there is no reason to be worried."

Sounds like Gurgle, Gill thought with a small smile – but, by the sound of it, Marlin, just like Gurgle, does have a reason to be worried about you. Gill stared at the child for a long moment. He knew that he should not say anything bad about his Dad, especially as it was clear that Marlin had a perfectly good reason for being concerned about his son. "Snails might be harmless enough," said Gill quietly, "but the ocean is full of dangers. It's understandable that your Dad would be worried that something bad might happen to you."

"Oh," the child looked down again, and sounded disappointed, "I was afraid that you would take his side."

Gill sighed, "This is not about taking sides, Sharkbait," he said calmly, "but the ocean can be a dangerous place. You need to be quick…" Gill gave the child a quick smile, then swam away from him as fast as he could. He waited behind the skull for the child to catch up. When the boy was by the side of the skull, Gill swam onto the top of the skull, and launched himself down right in front of the clownfish. He grinned at the boy, "cunning," he added, swimming in the opposite direction, then stopping suddenly, so that the boy nearly swam into him. "And ready for anything," Gill finished.

"But my Dad…" the clownfish began.

"Understands all of this," Gill finished for him. "The ocean is wonderful and beautiful, but it is not safe. It can be harsh and unforgiving to a little fish, and even a small mistake can change a fish's life forever."

"Is, is that what happened to you, Gill?" asked the clownfish.

Gill sighed again, "It was a long time ago now," he said, "I was not much older than you are now. I swam into something far beyond what I was able to understand. But I was one of the lucky ones, at least I survived."

"Where are you from?" asked Sharkbait.

Gill pointed out towards the ocean with his good fin, "Far from here, in the ocean where fish belong. That's where I was born, and where I intend to go back someday. Just as I intend to get you reunited with your father," he added.

"Do you, um," the boy looked down uncertainly, "do you miss your own Dad sometimes?" he asked.

Gill was rather taken aback by the question; in truth, he had not thought much about his parents for a very long time. "It was long ago now," he repeated quietly.

"Are they good parents?" Sharkbait asked.

Gill felt awkward, "Yes," he said, "or at least they were, or tried to be. But there were just so many of us, so they could not really give any of us much time and attention." And they are almost certainly dead by now, Gill realised – they had been quite old even before Gill had been taken into captivity, so it was very unlikely that they were still alive now.

"Hah, you were lucky!" Sharkbait replied, "at least they never tried to keep you bound to the anememon, anmonee, amenom…"

"I think you mean anemone," said Gill, giving him a small smile.

The boy returned the smile, then looked down shyly, "I like it when you smile. You seemed so sad just then, I didn't want to make you sad. Does it make you sad, thinking about your Dad?" he asked.

Gill swallowed, and looked away, "It was long ago," he repeated again.

"Well, when we get back to the ocean, you can meet my Dad, and I'll tell him all about you and the rest of the Tank Gang, and how you have been so nice here and how you welcomed me to be one of your gang," Sharkbait replied.

"I think I would like that," said Gill.

"And I'll show you all around the anem…on…ee…" he said carefully.

Gill gave a little laugh, "I can't go into an anemone, it will sting me," he said, "that's for clownfish, because you are special."

Sharkbait chuckled slightly, "You're teasing me," he said.

"No, I'm being serious," Gill replied, "it's called symbiosis. That's when different species spend time together, and both benefit from the relationship that they have with each other. It's not unusual in nature," he added, "there are birds that clean the teeth of crocodiles. The crocodiles benefit from this by having their teeth cleaned, and the birds benefit by getting food from the crocodiles' teeth. That's a symbiotic relationship, just like clownfish and the anemones that they live in."

"You mean like the relationship between you and me?" Sharkbait asked shyly.

"Well, no, not really…" Gill began, then stopped himself. He suddenly realised that, being with Sharkbait, he was feeling happier than he had for years, and the child also seemed to enjoy spending time with him. He gave the clownfish a very small smile, "Well, maybe a bit like you and me," he admitted.

1 Politicians do this _all the time._


	20. Chapter 20

_Chapter 19 – Hero Worship_

 **Author's Note: As requested, here is the next chapter, with Gill mentoring Nemo/Sharkbait. Enjoy!**

Gill watched with pride as Sharkbait swam past him, his tiny, 'lucky fin' as he called it, moving incredibly fast. Gill had spent the morning showing the boy what to do – how to compensate for his underdeveloped fin – the child had learnt fast and was now swimming almost as well as any other fish. Sharkbait swam up the volcano, and waved excitedly at Gill with his good fin as he passed him again, "How am I doing?" he asked.

"Great, Sharkbait, but keep on concentrating," Gill called back. Sharkbait gave him the fish equivalent of a nod, and continued to swim around the tank. Gill watched him carefully, both proud and slightly worried about his prized pupil – Sharkbait had to get this right, it was necessary in order for him to complete his part of Gill's plan without endangering life and fin – but if Gill pushed him too hard, too fast, then the boy could rebel, or reach a stage of burnout. And time was not exactly on their side – Gill was convinced that they would have to put the escape plan into action as soon as possible tomorrow morning, as soon as the dentist was otherwise engaged, in order to ensure that there was enough time for the tank to get filthy before Darla's birthday. And Gurgle's understandable concerns were still at the back of Gill's mind, even as he watched Sharkbait swim past him once more, panting slightly but grinning at his achievement.

"Playing parent?" Peach asked, coming up behind Gill.

Gill smiled shyly, and looked down, "This isn't about me, as I told Gurgle earlier. And Gurgle's right, as usual, this plan is potentially dangerous," he said quietly. "We've got to make sure that Sharkbait's ready and able to do what needs to be done."

"Of course, I can see that," said Peach, returning the smile. "But I've not seen you this happy or this proud, at least since Chuckles was with us," she added.

"It helps to have something to live for, something to fight for," Gill replied. He gave a little laugh, "I guess I'm never really happy unless I'm challenging myself in some way."

"It's more than that, though," Peach said, pointing as the clownfish passed them once more, "the boy looks up to you as a sort of substitute parent, and you seem to be thriving in that role."

"Surprised?" asked Gill, giving her a slightly wry smile.

"A little," Peach admitted, "just when I think I know everything there is to know about you, so you surprise me."

"A good surprise?" Gill asked.

"Yes," Peach said quietly, "I think the boy's feeling so much better than he would do otherwise, knowing that he has a parent figure to look out for him."

Gill was quiet for a moment, and then looked down, "We can't replace his Dad," he said, "and we should not even try. Ours is only a small role in the story of the kid's life, it's important that we all remember that."

"Who are you trying to convince?" Peach asked, smiling at Gill, "Me, or yourself?"

Gill sighed, as he watched Sharkbait swim up the volcano once more. He turned his attention back to Peach, "None of us are parents," he said quietly, "the younger ones are little more than children themselves, and I was not much older than they are now, when I was first taken from the ocean and put into captivity in a tank," he sighed quietly to himself, "I don't know how to do this," he admitted, "I mean, I don't have the instincts, have never had to look after a child. I'm afraid I'll do it wrong," he said quietly.

"Oh, you're not doing too badly," Peach said, smiling at him in an approving way.

"But it's not like being with his real Dad," said Gill, "I mean, I'm sure he's the one who knows how to do this right, whereas I'm, well, I'm just sort of muddling along."

Peach started to laugh, ever so quietly.

"It's not funny!" said Gill, "I'm worried I'm going to mess this whole thing up."

"Oh, I'm sorry for laughing at you, my dear friend," Peach said, giving him a friendly smile, "but you do tend to worry too much, to put too much responsibility on your own scales, when it's hardly necessary. All of the rest of us are here to help you, you don't have to cope with this alone."

"Thank you, that means a great deal to me," Gill replied quietly, "and I know I couldn't do this without the help of the rest of you. But it's me that the kid looks up to as a parent, you said so yourself, and I'm terrified of getting it wrong. It's not as if I'm his real Dad, and therefore knew what to do."

"And you think that real parents automatically know what to do for the best when raising their children?" asked Peach, stifling a laugh, "Honestly, Gill, I didn't think you of all fish would be that naïve."

"Naïve?" Gill asked, giving her a wry smile.

"Yes," Peach replied, then chuckled slightly, "All parents are more or less making it up as they go along," she said, "they don't just magically know what is the best for their children, but just have to try and make sure that their children are happy and safe. Most manage to muddle through well enough, just as you are doing with Sharkbait," she smiled at Gill again.

"I hope you are right," said Gill quietly.

"I'm sure I am," Peach replied, "still, you are right that we have to get the boy back to his Dad where he belongs, as I'm sure his Dad must be missing him and looking for him, even as we speak."

They watched in silence for a while, as Sharkbait continued to swim around the tank, "I wish I could do more to help the boy," Gill mused as he watched Sharkbait swim past them yet again, "I've asked Nigel to keep an eye out for his Dad, but the chance of him actually seeing him…" Gill's voice trailed off, "well, the ocean is literally the biggest thing on this planet, and clownfish are very small. They also don't usually venture very far from the anemone, and even if Sharkbait's Dad were to see Nigel, well, I'm pretty sure that he would dive out of the way of the pelican's beak, that's certainly what I would do."

"Then why ask Nigel to look for him?" Peach asked.

Gill sighed, and gave the fish equivalent of a shrug, "Because it's better than doing nothing," he replied.

Sharkbait came swimming up to the two of them, panting with exhaustion, but smiling with pride, "Did you see me?" he asked excitedly, "I swam all around the tank ten times! I'm sure I'll be able to stop this filter!"

Gill gave Peach a slightly worried look, then turned his attention back to the clownfish, "I'm sure you will too, Sharkbait," he said reassuringly, "but you've exhausted yourself enough for one day, you should go and get some sleep now, so you will be nice and rested for tomorrow."

Sharkbait sighed, "I'll be fine," he insisted.

"I think you will be," said Gill, putting a reassuring fin around the boy, "But if I've learned anything in the last few years, it's that it's better to be too cautious than to be too reckless." Gill sighed quietly, then continued, "Listen to me, Sharkbait," he said, staring the clownfish directly in the eye, "the most important thing is that you are safe, and that we are able to get you out of here without you coming to any harm. Everything else, me, the rest of the Tank Gang, my escape plans, all of it, well, that's all of secondary importance. Promise me that the first opportunity you get to escape from this place, you will take it. I will deal with everything else."

The clownfish smiled at him, and then nuzzled his side, "I can't believe that I ever thought you were mean," he said quietly.

Gill smiled at the boy, and then saw Deb and Gurgle swimming towards them. He turned his attention back to Sharkbait once more, "Your Uncle Gurgle has been worried about you," he said, as the gramma and the humbug came closer, "so if you could get some rest before tomorrow, just to make absolutely certain that you can cope with what you have to do tomorrow, that would make your Uncle Gurgle happy. And you want to make your Uncle Gurgle happy, don't you?" Gill added.

Sharkbait sighed again, "Oh, okay," he said.

Gill gave Gurgle a small nod, "If you can put up with his constant complaining, Gurgle often talks a great deal of sense," he said.

"Was that an insult or a compliment?" Gurgle muttered.

"A compliment," Gill assured him, then turned his attention back to Sharkbait again, "if there's one thing I've learnt since being in this tank, it's that I should not ignore Gurgle's concerns, they are often well founded." He turned his attention toward the gramma, giving him a small smile, "You once said that I taught you courage. That may be true, but you also taught me caution, when the need is great enough."

"Thank you," Gurgle replied quietly, looking down shyly.

Gill turned his attention back to Sharkbait once more, "You have a long day tomorrow, I want you well rested, so that you will be able to reach your true potential. Go with your Uncle Gurgle and Aunt Deb, have an early night. Tomorrow's going to be an exciting day for all of us."

Gill watched for a moment, as Sharkbait swam away with Deb and Gurgle, who made sure that he was settled down for the night. Then Gill turned his attention back to Peach, who was grinning at him. "You are good with the boy," she said, "and he looks up to you for advice and guidance," she added.

"Hero worship," said Gill, sounding awkward, "thinking someone else is perfect, is everything that you yourself want to be," Gill sighed quietly to himself, "that's never good. If you think someone's that wonderful, then, sooner or later, that fish will let you down. Yet that's exactly what I need right now, to ensure that the child does what I ask him to do." Gill sighed, "I really hope Gurgle is wrong, and I'm not making a terrible mistake," he added.

Deb and Gurgle came swimming back over towards Peach and Gill. They were silent for a while, and then Deb pointed towards where Sharkbait was starting to fall asleep, "You're good with him," said Deb.

"I guess so," Gill replied uncertainly. If both Peach and Deb thought so, then it was probably true, although Gill was well aware that he would never be able to replace the boy's real parents.

"It's almost as if Sharkbait reminds Gill of himself when he was a kid," Gurgle muttered thoughtfully.

"Gill as a kid!" said Deb, stifling a laugh, "That must have been a really long time ago."

Gill rolled his eyes, "It wasn't _that_ long ago," he said. But they did have a point. Gill had not felt this young, this alive, for a very long time, and certainly not since Chuckles' death. Perhaps Sharkbait was right, and this was some form of symbiosis, whereby Gill was benefitting as much out of the time he was spending with the clownfish, as Sharkbait was learning from his new mentor. Gill wondered vaguely what William would think of him, if he could see him now. Would he be proud of him? Perhaps, but that was not what was important right now. As he has told the boy, the most important thing was getting him out of here and back to the ocean where he belonged, which was what Gill was determined to do, as soon as possible tomorrow morning.


	21. Chapter 21

_Chapter 20 – Nemo's First Attempt_

 **Author's Note: As requested, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

It was early the next morning. The dentist had only just entered his surgery, and was starting to organise his dentistry tools for the day ahead. Gill watched him for a moment, wondering how long it would be until Doctor Sherman left his surgery for any length of time – Peach had been watching him intently ever since Sharkbait had joined them in the tank, and was poised ready to inform the others as soon as they could put Gill's plan into action. No, the dentist was not worth worrying about for the moment – it was Sharbait that Gill was concerned about. He could see the little clownfish staring out of the side of the tank, a melancholy expression on his face. I know what you're thinking, kid, I've thought it myself so many times – the ocean is so near, but at the same time so far away, like a dream upon waking, and the longing to get back there, to be a part of it once more, it's almost unbearable. But it's more than that, I can tell. You have fish out there that love you, and being separated from them…well, nothing we do in here can ever be enough, can ever compare to having your own real family around you. But maybe, just maybe, I can ease you're sadness, just a little.

Silently, Gill swam up towards where he could see Sharkbait's sad reflection in the side of the tank. He looked down at him briefly, sympathetically, and said: "You miss your Dad, don't you, Sharkbait?"

"Yeah," the boy replied, looking down sadly.

For a moment, Gill was unsure what to say. But surely the boy's Dad would be trying to find out what had happened to his son, would, even now, be making his way towards them. "Well, you're lucky to have someone out there who's lookin' for you," said Gill quietly.

Sharkbait gave a huge, sad sigh, "He's not looking for me. He's scared of the ocean," he said.

Gill wanted to argue, wanted to say that of course his Dad was searching desperately for his lost son. But he stopped himself. He could not know that for certain. Though Sharkbait was brave and smart, that did not mean that he got those qualities from his father, and Gill was well aware that sometimes the most cowardly parents could have the bravest of children. Besides, he did not want to contradict Sharkbait when he was not in possession of all the facts. Instead, he turned his attention to where Peach was attached to the side of the tank, watching the dentist intently. "Peach, any movement?" he asked.

"He's had at least four cups of coffee, it's gotta be soon," she replied.

"Keep on him," Gill said. They had to be ready at a moment's notice, and Gill was glad that it was Peach – sensible, wise Peach – rather than one of the eccentric younger ones who had offered to keep a careful eye on Doctor Sherman.

Gill watched the dentist for a moment, and then, out of the corner of his eye, noticed that Sharkbait had been looking at his severed right fin. The boy looked away quickly, as though ashamed of having stared at it, as though he was worried that Gill was embarrassed about it. Okay, thought Gill, better we get this conversation over and done with now, or there is going to be a great deal of awkwardness in this tank, "My first escape, landed on dental tools," he said, remembering as clearly as if it was yesterday his first attempt at trying to escape from this tank, and how he had become permanently injured as a result, "I was aiming for the toilet," he added.

"Toilet?" asked Sharkbait.

Of course, the boy was from the ocean, and was as unaware of the human world as Gill had been at that age. "All drains lead to the ocean, kid," Gill replied, and his voice contained that longing, that desire to return back home, that it always did whenever he talked about the ocean.

"Wow. How many times have you tried to get out?" asked Sharkbait.

How many times…Gill was not sure, there had been so many, so many failed attempts at trying to get out of the tank. "Aah, I've lost count," he grunted, and swam along the side of the tank, Sharkbait following close behind, "Fish aren't meant to be in a box, kid. It does things to ya."

As if to prove his point, at that moment they passed by Bubbles, who was waiting excitedly by his beloved chest, the one that opened revealing-

"Bubbles! Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles!" the yellow tang said excitedly, as he watched the bubbles rise up from the opened chest. A moment later, the chest shut once more, stopping the bubbles from emerging from it. Bubbles looked at the closed chest in disappointment, as though waiting for it to open and let out his beloved bubbles once more.

"Potty break!" said Peach excitedly, urgently, "Potty break! He just grabbed the Reader's Digest! We have four point two minutes."

Gill was impressed at how precise Peach had become at noticing Doctor Sherman's habits, but there was not time to reflect on that now. They had just over four minutes – plenty of time to get the plan underway, but it was better that they acted as soon as possible, just in case of unforeseen eventualities. Gill turned his attention back to Sharkbait once more, and grinned down at the little clownfish, "That's your cue, Sharkbait," he said encouragingly.

The Tank Gang were gathering around the filter when Gill and Sharkbait swam towards them. "You can do it, kid," said Bloat encouragingly.

Gurgle still seemed worried, even though Gill had, for once, taken his advice and helped and trained Sharkbait, so that now the boy could swim almost as well as Gill himself. But Gurgle would not be Gurgle if he was not worrying about something, and Gill knew that they did not have time to argue with the gramma. The most important fish now was Sharkbait, the rest of the Tank Gang merely there to help and encourage him so that he could reach his full potential. Gill turned his attention away from the concerned gramma, and back towards where Sharkbait himself now seemed to be nervous and unsure, "Okay, you gotta be quick," he said. "Once you get in, you swim down to the bottom of the chamber and I'll talk you through the rest."

"Okay…" the boy said, but he sounded hesitant and uncertain.

"Go on, it'll be a piece of kelp," Gill added, trying to alleviate some of the boy's uncertainty.

Sharkbait took a deep breath, and swam up towards the filter. After a moment, Gill could only see Sharkbait's shadow, as the boy did exactly as instructed. The clownfish managed to squeeze himself through one of the spokes of the waterwheel, and landed on the filter. Gill grinned to himself, basking in reflected pride at his star pupil's cleverness and bravery, "Nicely done!" he called out, "Can you hear me?" he asked.

"Yeah," came the reply from inside the filter.

"Here comes the pebble," Gill picked up a pebble in his mouth, and launched it towards the clownfish in the filter, "Now, do you see a small opening?" he asked.

"Uh-huh," Sharkbait replied.

"Okay, inside it you'll see a rotating fan," Gill said, "Very carefully, wedge that pebble into the fan to stop it turning."

Something was going wrong, Gill was sure of it. He could still only see the shadow of the clownfish, but his mannerisms seemed less sure, more uncertain, more scared…

"Aaah!" the boy screamed in fear.

"Careful, Sharkbait," Gill said worriedly, watching intently, and wishing that he could do more to help.

"Gill, this isn't a good idea," Peach warned him.

This has got to work, I don't know what else to do! Gill thought to himself. We don't have _time_ to come up with another plan. "He'll be fine," Gill insisted, wondering if he was trying to convince Peach or himself. He turned his attention back to the filter, "Try again!" he insisted.

"Okay," Sharkbait's voice sounded worried and uncertain.

Gill didn't really blame him for feeling that way. How much time did they have left? They had to hurry, Gill was certain about that. He watched intently. Good, the boy was being more cautious now, moving the pebble slowly and steadily into position to stop the filter. "That's it, Sharkbait," said Gill encouragingly, "Nice and steady."

"I got it! I got it!" the boy called excitedly to Gill.

Peach let out a sigh of relief.

"He did it!" said Bloat.

"Whew!" said Gurgle, relief practically floating off of his gills.

Gill could understand perfectly why they all felt so relieved. At last, a plan that worked! He turned his attention back to the filter, "That's great, kid!" he said, "Now, swim up the tube and out."

Gill's jubilation suddenly turned to terror when, once again, something seemed to have gone wrong. Gill didn't know what it was, and for the moment at least, it did not matter, the only thing that mattered was that the child was in danger – because of Gill's own recklessness.

"Oh no! Gill! Gill!" the boy called out.

He was being sucked back into the filter and to the danger that awaited there. The knowledge hit Gill suddenly, with the force of a tsunami.

"Sharkbait!" Gill called desperately.

"Oh my gosh!" said Bloat, starting to panic.

"Get 'im outta there! Get 'im outta there!" Gill insisted, looking around the tank desperately for something that could be used to help the child.

"Help him!" that was Bubbles, who sounded almost as worried as Gill felt.

"What do we do!? What do we do!?" asked Gurgle, who seemed to be on the verge of having hysterics now.

"Oh no!" said Peach – even she seemed to be panicking now.

"Stay calm, kid!" Gill instructed, trying to do exactly that himself, "Just don't panic!"

"Help me!" the boy called desperately.

Gill grabbed one of the plastic plants from the base of the tank, in his mouth, and, with the help of the others, managed to fit it inside the plastic tube leading to the trapped clownfish. "Sharkbait!" he said, "Grab hold of this!"

There was the sound of a leaf coming off of the plant, and being sucked towards the filter. There was the sound of the panicking clownfish: "No! No!"

Gill turned to the rest of the Tank Gang. The plant was not long enough to reach the boy, "Feed me more!" he insisted.

"That's it!" came Gurgle's worried reply.

Gill had never felt more worried or concerned before, not even when Chuckles had died. He turned his attention back to the panicking clownfish, "Come on, Sharkbait!" he said, indicating the offered plant, "Grab it!"

There was a moment of tension, when Gill was certain that the boy would not be able to reach the offered plant, would not be able to free himself, would be trapped, killed, because of Gill's own pride…

"I got it!" Sharkbait's voice sounded muffled, due to having the plant in his mouth, but Gill had never felt more relieved to hear his voice.

"Pull!" Gill ordered. He did not have to tell them twice.

Within a moment, the plant was removed from the tube, along with the terrified, but thankfully unharmed clownfish. The boy, crying, shaking with fear, made his way over to Peach, who engulfed him in her arms, holding him protectively, as she looked over towards where Gill was staring at them.

Gill stared back, not knowing what to say, not knowing how to apologise, as the shock and terror at what had nearly happened suddenly hit him with the force of a tidal wave.

"Gill, don't make him go back in there," Peach said, as she hugged the boy close to her, for what little comfort that could give him.

"No," said Gill, as shame and guilt overtook his feelings of concern, "We're done."


	22. Chapter 22

_Chapter 21 – Nemo's Second Attempt_

 **Author's Notes: Angelwings2002 – glad you thought that Gill's thoughts were realistic given the context of this story – trying to keep him a character, yet give him moments of doubt and uncertainty can be challenging at times, although it is one of the most fun parts of writing this story – after all, I already have the dialogue and the plot now that this is taking place during the movie. Including a song fic is an interesting idea, and I am familiar with** _ **Pocahontas**_ **, but the truth is that I am not very good at integrating songs into my stories while still maintaining the pace of the plot, so I'll politely decline that suggestion on this occasion, if that's okay. Right, time for Nemo's Second Attempt. Enjoy!**

Gill stared at the inside of the skull, trying to come to terms with what had just happened – with what had nearly happened. He shivered slightly, the thought of the child being put in danger due to his own irresponsible behaviour almost more than he could bear. I've been too reckless, he chided himself, should have thought, should have considered what I was allowing the child to do, should have realised how dangerous it was, should have listened to Gurgle…

He looked up, and saw that Gurgle was indeed staring through the eye socket of the skull, watching him intently. Gill wondered how long he had been there, and quickly turned his attention back to staring at the inside of the skull once more – he did not want to look into that accusing stare. He sighed. "Go ahead, say it," he said quietly.

Gurgle seemed to be genuinely puzzled upon hearing that, "Say what?" he asked.

Gill sighed again, "Say, 'I told you so', you have the right, you were right, I should have listened to you…" his voice trailed off.

Gurgle continued to watch him in silence for a moment, and then said: "Will that help Sharkbait?"

Gill gave him a quick look. He seemed worried, but that was pretty normal for the gramma. But Gurgle had never been one to gloat, and obviously did not seem to want to start now. "No," Gill replied quietly.

"Then I don't think I'll bother," Gurgle replied decisively. He leaned in closer, and Gill suddenly realised that the gramma was worried about him.

"How are you?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Me?" Gill gave a mirthless little laugh, "Oh, I'm fine, I'm not the one who was nearly killed because an irresponsible Moorish idol put my life in danger in order to put in place his reckless plan."

Gurgle continued to watch him in silence for a moment, and Gill sighed quietly to himself once more. Then he looked towards Gurgle, and gave him a small smile, "William tried to get me to live up to my true potential, to push me further than I felt comfortable going…I guess he realised that he would not always be around to help me, so it would do more good to teach me how to rely on myself," Gill sighed, "I tried to do the same with Sharkbait, because, sooner or later, he will have to depend upon himself, at some point in his life, we will not be around to help him. But…when I was with William, I was already an adult, whereas he's still just a child, and, for the moment at least, what is important is that we are able to protect him…which is exactly what I failed to do…" Gill sighed, and gave Gurgle a small, nervous smile, "I was not much older than you when I was taken away from my ocean home," he said quietly, "you should have seen me then. I was ready to take on the world! Could have done it, too," he added.

"Then what happened?" Gurgle asked.

Gill gave him a small smile, "William happened. He made me realise that if I were to take on the whole world, well, I'd just have a whole world to deal with, and, sooner or later, I'd have to think before acting – and that it would be better if it was sooner rather than later." Gill was quiet for a moment, then added: "he showed me that it was better if I were instead to encourage and help others to reach their own potential, to help them to become all that they could be. That's what I tried to do with Sharkbait, to be for him what William once was for me. But I forgot that he's still so young, and so I gave him too much freedom, allowed him to do things that were too dangerous, failed as a parent figure…" his voice trailed off.

"I think it's Sharkbait you should be saying all this to," replied Gurgle quietly, "not me."

Gill gave another sigh, "William once told me that there is a little bit of darkness in all of my kind," said Gill quietly. "I don't know if that's true or not," he added.

"That's up to you," Gurgle replied, "and what you choose to do now." Gurgle continued to watch him for a while. "I…I know that sometimes you need to be alone for a bit," he said quietly, "need time to get your thoughts in order away from the rest of us, especially when life gets hard. If that's all that you're doing right now, well that's okay. If you can use that time to come up with another escape plan, a better escape plan, then all the better…"

"That's what you suggested in the first place," Gill said, giving him a very small smile, "and you were right, as usual, I should have thought of something different, something better, some plan that didn't involve putting the child in danger…" his voice trailed off again.

"Well, yes you should have," Gurgle replied, "but it's too late to worry about that now, we can't change the past, only the present and the future. And that's what we need you to do."

Gill looked intently at Gurgle. The innocent blue eyes were full of worry and concern – as usual – but there did not seem to be any hate or resentment within them. Gill looked down, "You would be a better leader than me," he said quietly, "you're cautious and insightful, you think about the consequences of your actions before you take them. I'm too reckless."

"Even if that were true, even if I could make some kind of leader, I wouldn't want to," Gurgle replied, "from what I can see, it just involves you worrying and fretting all of the time." He gave Gill a small smile, "and I already worry enough for three fish," he added.

Gill returned the smile, "Well, yes, that is true," he said quietly.

"And even if I could somehow manage to convince the rest of the Tank Gang that I were to be their leader, Bloat at least would never accept that," Gurgle added playfully, and then became serious once more, "It's you we need," he said quietly, "all of the Tank Gang need you to lead and guide us. Especially Sharkbait," he added.

Gill winced slightly upon hearing that, "How…is he?" he asked quietly.

"Shaken, which is to be expected really," Gurgle replied, "but I think he will be okay. If there's one thing I've learned since coming to this tank, it's that fish from the ocean are tough and resilient. They won't let a little detail like a little swim close to death stop them from being all that they can be." Gurgle was silent for a moment, "I was worried about your plan, anyway," he said quietly, "worried that this whole place would have become filthy and full of germs, and that that would have put all of us in danger."

"You…you never said…" said Gill, giving him a quizzical look.

Gurgle gave him a small smile, "Well, I keep telling myself that Sharkbait is more important than anything else, including me and you and all of our concerns. The rest is just foam and bubbles," he said dismissively.

"Bubbles! Bubbles! Bubbles, bubbles!" Bubbles came swimming towards them, clearly excited upon hearing about bubbles.

Gurgle and Gill exchanged glances, then Gill turned his attention back to Bubbles, "Sorry, no bubbles right here," he said, "you had better go back to your chest of bubbles."

Giving them both a dejected look, Bubbles swam away from them once more.

"Right," said Gurgle, after a moment's hesitation, "as I was saying, it's Sharkbait that's what's important now."

"You should go to him," Gill said quietly.

"No, _you_ should go to him," Gurgle countered.

Gill sighed, "I can't, not yet," he replied, "I nearly got him killed! What can I say to him: 'Hi Sharkbait, sorry for nearly getting you killed, it won't happen again!'"

"Well, it would be a start," Gurgle replied, "it would be better than just moping away in this skull, at least."

Gill looked down once more, "I doubt that the boy would want to talk to me, anyway," he said quietly, "and I can hardly blame him if he does feel that way."

Gurgle watched Gill for a long moment, and then sighed, "Fine. I'm sure Chuckles would have been able to get through to you, but I'm not him, and, right now, it's not you that I should be worried about, anyway. I'm going to go and see how Sharkbait is doing. If you want to swim out of your skull and accompany me, I'm sure the boy would appreciate it."

"Sorry," Gill replied, "I can't. Not yet. I'll…I'll swim to him soon, I promise, but right now, I really do need to be alone."

Gurgle sighed, "Fine," he said again, sounding irritated, "when you feel like being a leader again, come and join me." Without another word, he swam away from Gill. Gill sighed quietly to himself. Once again, Gurgle had been right about more or less everything. But Gill knew that he could not face Sharkbait, not yet, could not bring himself to look the little clownfish in the eye, knowing that he had nearly been responsible for getting the boy killed. Gill swam towards the eye socket of the skull, and peered out. Gurgle had swum towards where Deb and Bloat were looking worried, and it was clear that they had been talking about Sharkbait. Gill inched closer to the eye socket, so that he could hear what they were all saying.

"Is he doing okay?" asked Deb. It was not difficult to realise who she was talking about.

"I don't know," Gurgle replied, "but whatever you do, don't mention D-A-R…"

All of the younger ones had learned how to read a lot faster than Gill had done, so that now they were nearly as adept at reading as Peach. Of course, Gill didn't know whether or not Sharkbait had ever had the chance to learn how to read human-

Gurgle stopped suddenly, when a dejected Sharkbait softly replied, "It's okay, I know who you are talking about."

\- Perhaps it didn't matter whether or not Sharkbait knew how to read – he was smart, and could have clearly figured that out from the context, Gill thought to himself, as he swam back further inside his skull once more.

Gill heard Bloat – it had to be Bloat – slap Gurgle for being so careless with his comment. Then Gill's attention returned to Sharkbait once more – the boy had swum towards the eye socket of his skull, and was now looking at him, an uncertain expression in his eyes.

"Gill?" he said quietly. "Gill…?" he repeated.

"Hey, Sharkbait," said Gill, quickly glancing at the clownfish, then looking away once more. He sighed inwardly, trying to mentally prepare himself for what he needed to do: okay, time to say everything – no more putting it off. The kid's right there, waiting for you to apologise to him – maybe, one day, he will find it inside himself to forgive you for nearly getting him killed.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop the –"

Gill interrupted before he could complete the sentence – the kid thinks _he's_ the one I'm mad at?! Right, time to make him realise that he is not the one that needs to apologise, "No, I'm the one who should be sorry," he said quietly, sincerely, "I was so ready to get out, so ready to taste that ocean. I was willing to put you in harm's way to get there. Nothing should be worth that. I'm sorry I couldn't get you back to your father, kid," he added, looking up at Sharkbait momentarily. The boy seemed sad, but at least now he knew that _he_ was not the one who had made a terrible mistake.

Before Sharkbait could reply, Nigel flew right into the closed window of the dentist's surgery, obviously distracting Doctor Sherman, who had been operating on a patient. "What the!?" the dentist asked, as he pulled out one of the patient's teeth. The patient screamed in pain or panic, while the Tank Gang watched with mild interest – this distraction had, at least temporarily, taken their minds off of Sharkbait and the danger that he had so recently survived.

"Well, uh, that's one way to pull a tooth," the dentist said, laughing slightly to himself as he went over to the window to investigate what was happening, leaving the window open a crack, "Huh, darn kids," he said dismissively, then turned back to his patient once more, "Well, good thing I pulled the right one, eh prime minister?" he said, laughing to himself once more.

As the dentist departed, Nigel pushed the window further open, and poked his head inside, "Hey, hey. Psst!" he said, looking at the Tank Gang.

"Oh, Nigel," said Peach, "You just missed an extraction."

"Ooh!" said Nigel, "Has he loosened the periodontal ligament yet – oh what am I talking about?!" the pelican asked himself, "Where's Nemo? I gotta speak with him."

His curiosity aroused, Gill swam with Sharkbait towards where the pelican was looking in at the Tank Gang. "What? What is it?" asked Sharkbait.

Nigel grinned at the young clownfish, "Your dad's been fighting the entire ocean looking for you," he told him.

Sharkbait seemed surprised, and maybe just a little bit sceptical, "My father?" he asked, "Really?"

"Really?" Gill asked, watching Nigel carefully, hoping that he was not making a joke which would lead to Sharkbait becoming disappointed and disillusioned later.

The pelican nodded; he seemed to be completely serious as he continued: "Oh yeah. He's travelled hundreds of miles. He's been battling sharks and jellyfish and all sorts of-"

"Sharks?" Sharkbait asked sceptically, "That can't be him."

Gill looked down at the boy briefly. Admittedly, the thought of a clownfish fighting sharks did seem rather far-fetched. But, on the other hand, so was the thought of fish making friends with a fish-eating pelican…

"Are you sure?" asked Nigel thoughtfully, "What was his name? Some sort of sportfish or something: tuna, uh, trout…"

"Marlin?" asked Sharkbait, hope and wonder within his tone of voice.

"That's it!" replied Nigel, "Marlin! The little clownfish from the reef."

Sharkbait was grinning with excitement and wonder – a huge change from his mood earlier that day. He laughed, and turned to Gill and Bubbles, who were watching him with a mixture of pride and relief, "It's my dad!" the boy exclaimed. "He took on a shark!"

Nigel grinned at him, and held up three feathers, "I heard he took on three!" he said.

"Three!?" said Deb, Bloat and Gurgle at the same moment, clearly impressed.

Gill could hardly blame them for feeling that way, "Three sharks!?" he asked.

"That's gotta be forty eight hundred teeth!" exclaimed Bloat.

Okay, so _how_ exactly does he know that? Gill asked himself – did he stop and count a shark's teeth at some point? Did anyone? Why? Then again, humans seemed so bizarre at times, that practically nothing would surprise him about them any more.

"You see, kid, after you were taken by diver Dan over there," Nigel pointed a feather towards Doctor Sherman, "your dad followed the boat you were on like a manic," Nigel began.

"Really?" asked Sharkbait.

"He's swimming and he's swimming," Nigel acted out the motions of swimming with his feathers – at any other time, that would have been amusing, but, right now, his tale was what was captivating his audience, "and he's giving it all he's got and then three gigantic sharks capture him and he blows them up! And then dives thousands of feet and gets chased by a monster with huge teeth! He ties this demon to a rock and what does he get for a reward? He gets to battle an entire jellyfish forest! And now he's riding with a bunch of sea turtles on the East Australian Current and the word is he's heading this way right now, to Sydney!"

The Tank Gang had been silent throughout Nigel's story – and that in itself was a small miracle considering how often they bickered with each other. But Nigel's tale had certainly deserved their rapt attention – it was comparable to the heroic tales that Gill remembered listening to back in Mr. Elias' tank, what felt like a lifetime ago; and the thought that a small and vulnerable clownfish had managed to accomplish all of this was simply incredible. Gill grinned in reflected pride – Gurgle had said that fish from the ocean were tough and resilient, and here was the proof!

"Wow," said Bloat, laughing to himself.

"Oh, what a good daddy!" said Deb, clearly impressed.

Gill smiled to himself, "He was lookin' for you after all, Sharkbait," he said, looking down towards the young clownfish-

Towards where the young clownfish had been.

Gill gasped, knowing what the child intended to do, but hoping that he was wrong. Of course, fish from the ocean are tough and resilient, will not let a little thing like swimming close to death deter them-

Sharkbait swam towards the filter, a pebble in his mouth and a determined expression on his face.

"He's swimming to the filter!" Gurgle exclaimed.

Well, stop him then! Gill thought to himself. But he realised at that moment that no power in the ocean or on the land would have stopped Sharkbait from attempting to do what he had failed to do before. Hearing about his father's adventures had given him the necessary motivation to try out Gill's plan again, even after he had nearly fatally failed previously.

Gill gasped, "Sharkbait!" he called desperately.

"Not again!" said Bloat.

"Sharkbait!" Gill repeated.

"No!" said Deb.

"You've got your whole life ahead of you!" came Gurgle's panicked voice.

"Oh no!" that was Bloat.

We don't have _time_ to panic, Gill thought, as Sharkbait leaped into the filter. With an eerie sense of _Déjà vu_ __– as Jacques would say – Gill stared up at the filter for a moment, then turned and grabbed one of the plastic plants in his mouth, "We'll help you, kid!" he said. With the help of the rest of the Tank Gang, the plant was inserted up the tube.

"Gotta get him out!" said Bloat,

"Gimme that thing!" said Deb determinedly, indicating the plant, "Get him outta there!"

"Come on, kid!" Gurgle said encouragingly, "Grab the end!"

There was a noise. The sound of a gear stopping. Then there was total silence within the tank.

The entire Tank Gang gasped, not able to accept what they all dreaded and feared had just happened.

"Sharkbait!" called Deb.

"Sharkbait! Are you okay!?" asked Bloat.

"No!" that was Gurgle, echoing how all of the Tank Gang felt.

"Can you hear me, Sharkbait!?" Gill asked, "Nemo!" he hardly ever used the child's given name, but if that could somehow help…" Can you hear me!?"

"Yeah, I can hear you," that was Sharkbait's voice – and the boy sounded calm and not in the least bit hurt. The Tank Gang turned around, and saw Sharkbait there – unharmed, and grinning triumphantly – and he had a good reason for feeling triumphant, for he had succeeded in Gill's plan to break the filter!

Gill grinned, proud of his pupil, and relieved beyond words that the boy was unharmed, "That took guts, kid," he said approvingly, tapping him affectionately on the side.

Gurgle, clearly unable to hide his relief that the boy was safe, embraced him in an affectionate hug, "Sharkbait, you're -" he stopped for a moment, as though suddenly realising something, "covered in germs!" he let go and looked at his fins, suddenly screaming in fear. Gill couldn't help but feel a bit relieved upon hearing that – so things were back to normal – or as normal as they ever got inside the tank.

Two minutes later, the entire Tank Gang were in a line, watching as Gill and Sharkbait swam in front of them, like a general and his assistant inspecting an army – an army with a plan. "All right, gang," said Gill, "We have less than forty-eight hours before Darla gets here. This tank'll get plenty dirty in that time, but we have to help it along anyway we can. Jacques!" he added, addressing the cleaner shrimp.

" _Oui_ ," said Jacques, giving him a salute.

"No cleaning," Gill instructed.

"I shall resist," Jacques assured him.

Gill turned to the rest of the Tank Gang once more; they were nodding and grinning excitedly as Gill continued: "Everybody else, be as gross as possible," he told them – that should come easy to Bloat, although Jacques and Gurgle might find it challenging, "Think dirty thoughts," Gill added, "We're gonna make this tank so filthy, the dentist'll have to clean it.

Bloat belched at that.

"Good work!" Gill told him – just as he had suspected, he could rely on Bloat for this plan.

Sharkbait laughed, and Gill had never felt more glad to hear that sound, and to know that he was happy and safe, and that he would soon be reunited with his father once more, back in the ocean where they both belonged.


	23. Chapter 23

_Chapter 22 – In the Muck_

 **Author's Notes: Kinola – I've read a few fanfictions about Gill's past, but I'm not sure that I know that one, is it any good? Now, as requested, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Gill surveyed the tank – what he could still see of it. The entire tank was covered in scum. It was amazing how quickly it had become filthy when it was left alone, without an active filter to clean it. He saw Gurgle swim past him, panicking at the sight of the unclean tank, worriedly wringing his fins together as he stared in wide-eyed fear at their filthy home. Still, he was doing better than Gill had anticipated – Gill had been almost certain that Gurgle would end up curled in a huddle somewhere in a corner of the tank, shivering in terror. He hadn't quite reached that point yet, although Gill suspected that it might come to that, if the dentist didn't get around to cleaning the tank within the next day or two. But everything was going according to plan – which was ever so slightly worrying, Gill had to admit – meaning that the tank would soon be cleaned, and he would soon be back in the ocean where he belonged, and helping Sharkbait to get back home to his Dad. Gill looked down momentarily, to where Sharkbait was by his side, and also staring at the unclean tank. Gill grinned down at him as he indicted the scum, "Look at that," he said, "Would you look at that? Filthy. Absolutely filthy." Gill looked down at Sharkbait once more, his eyes glinting with pride in his star pupil as he continued, "And it's all thanks to you, kid. You made it all possible." Sharkbait stared back up at him, and it was clear that he appreciated the praise for his bravery and the part that he had played in Gill's latest escape plan. Then Gill was distracted by Jacques – the cleaner shrimp was living up to that name, cleaning the tank of the ugly green scum. Gill frowned at him, "Jacques, I said no cleaning!" he said.

The cleaner shrimp looked back from the corner of the tank – where there was a small area of clean surrounded by scum, and where Jacques himself now had scum on his face – a clear indication of his guilt. Looking contrite, the shrimp looked down, "I am ashamed," he admitted.

Gill sighed mentally. Of course, such a tiny amount of cleaning would hardly make a difference, but he would have to make sure that Jacques kept his cleaning of the tank to a minimum, if this latest escape plan were to work. Gill knew how hard it was for Jacques to avoid cleaning, however, and had been quite impressed with his restraint up until that moment, so suspected, and hoped, that there would be no more mistakes.

"Hey, look. Scum angel," said Peach. Gill turned his attention towards her. She was indeed making scum angels, moving her arms up and down, creating small areas of clean that did indeed look like angels amid the scum. Gill smiled at her, but was quickly distracted by the sound of panicked worry, and he was not at all surprised to find that Gurgle was still panicking, due to being inside such a dirty, and no doubt germ-filled, environment.

Gurgle swum past him once more, still wringing his fins together, his blue eyes panicked as he stared around the filthy tank, "Aah! Aaaah! Ooh-ooh! Aaaaah!" he seemed unable to make sounds that were more coherent than general panicky exclamations. Gill watched him for a moment, and felt a slight twinge of sympathy for the panicking gramma – but reminded himself that it would not be for long, and that, in any case, Sharkbait was more important than anyone else right now, and should be the Tank Gang's main concern.

Meanwhile, Bubbles was staring at his treasure chest. After a moment, it opened, revealing a bubble – but this bubble was unlike the other bubbles that he liked so much. This bubble was a dirty green colour, and rose slowly from the chest. But Gill knew that Bubbles would always be happy to see any bubble, regardless of its size or colour, "Bubbles!" Bubbles said as he watched this strange new bubble, "I love the bubbles -!" this bubble then burst right in front of him, leaving him coughing.

Then Gill turned his attention to Deb, who seemed to be worried, "Flo!" she called, looking around the tank. She could not see Flo in the muck, doubtlessly because Flo was her reflection – but to Deb, Flo was clearly as real as any other fish, and she seemed to have vanished in the muck, "Has anybody seen Flo?" Deb asked, looking around herself again. "Flo!" she called once more.

Peach paused from creating her scum angel, and pointed up at the clock on the wall, "Nine o'clock and cue dentist," she said. At practically that exact moment, the dentist did indeed enter his surgery. The fish stopped what they had been doing, and watched him nonchalantly, hoping that he would notice the state of their tank – their home – and clean it, so that they could then move on to the next stage of Gill's most recent escape plan.

"Hello, Barbara," said the dentist, "Sorry I'm late."

"Okay. Okay, here we go," said Peach, "Here we go, okay," she was watching the dentist intently, as though wondering how long it would be for him to notice the plight of the fish within his tank.

The dentist, however, was more occupied for the moment with a patient - a young human boy, wearing the slightly worried expression that Gill often saw on Doctor Sherman's younger patients, "Little Davey Reynolds," the dentist said as he looked at the boy.

"Okay," said Peach, still watching the dentist intently, "Walks to the counter, drops the keys…" she reported, as the dentist did just that.

Gill's attention was then taken by Bloat and Gurgle, who were starting to squabble again. Bloat had been enthusiastically rolling around in the muck, and that alone had clearly disgusted Gurgle enough. Then, probably to intentionally annoy and disgust the gramma, the pufferfish had swallowed a bit of stirred up scum. "Bloat, that's disgusting!" Gurgle exclaimed.

"Tastes pretty good to me," Bloat retorted, then belched right in Gurgle's face, much to the gramma's obvious annoyance.

"Eww!" exclaimed Gurgle, waving a fin in front of his face theatrically. Then he turned to the rest of the Tank Gang, shaking his fins in disgust, "Don't you people realise we are swimming in our own –"

"Shh! Here he comes," Peach interrupted.

The Tank Gang swam to the sunken ship in order to hide, as the dentist neared their tank. Gill watched as Doctor Sherman removed the lid of the tank, and stared inside their home, a look of disgust upon his face, "Crikey, what a state," he said, dipping his finger into the muck on the side of the tank, forming a clean line where his finger had disturbed the scum. He turned his attention back to the female human, "Oh. Barbara, what's my earliest appointment tomorrow?" he asked.

After a very brief pause, Barbara replied, "Uh, ten o'clock, luv."

Gill watched as the dentist cleaned his finger on the bib of his most recent patient – who did not seem to be impressed at being used in this way. The dentist did not seem to notice the young human's expression, but instead replied to Barbara: "Leave it open, would you? I gotta clean the fish tank before Darla gets here."

Slowly, the adult members of the Tank Gang emerged from their hiding places within the sunken ship. Everything was going according to Gill's plan – the dentist intended to clean the tank early tomorrow morning, which meant that by tomorrow afternoon they would hopefully be back in the ocean.

Grinning, Gill turned his attention back to the sunken ship, where Sharkbait was still hiding from the dentist. "He he!" Gill laughed quietly to himself, "Did you hear that, Sharkbait?" he asked.

"Yay!" came Sharkbait's reply from within the wreck, "He's gonna clean the tank!" the boy sounded almost as excited as Gill felt, as he swam out of the porthole of the ship, "He's gonna clean the tank!" he repeated, grinning, "We're gonna be clean!"

"Are you ready to see your Dad, kid?" asked Gill, watching the child intently.

"Uh-huh," the boy replied.

It was clear that the child wanted to see his Father again – needed to, after being separated from him for so long. "Of course you are," said Gill softly, smiling down at the young clownfish. He led the boy over towards the window that overlooked the harbour, and indicated out towards the sea, "Y'know, I wouldn't be surprised if he's out there in the harbour waitin' for you right now," he added.

"Yeah," said Sharkbait, staring out at where Gill was indicating, and smiling to himself. Gill continued to watch him intently. His Father was out there somewhere, making his way towards them. Gill promised himself that – no matter what else were to happen - by tomorrow afternoon, Sharkbait would be back with his Dad, free at last, back in the ocean where both of them belonged.


	24. Chapter 24

_Chapter 23 – Ocean Dreams and a Rude Awakening_

 **Author's Notes: I've been thinking that Nemo/Sharkbait sleeping beside Gill would be a cute scene, but, rather than telling him a bedtime story, I'm going with them reminiscing about the ocean together, and bonding in that way. I hope you like this latest chapter – enjoy.**

Gill could barely see the others now, the tank was so filthy. He could just make out Jacques and Gurgle, not far below him. The cleaner shrimp, being unable to resist cleaning, had taken to cleaning Gurgle, much to the gramma's relief. Although Gurgle had never been very good at French, when it came to panicking about germs, he was nearly as fluent as a native French speaker, much to Jacques' obvious amusement. Still, Gurgle did have a point: spending a great deal of time in a tank that was so full of dirt would not be good for their health. Doctor Sherman was going to clean the tank first thing tomorrow morning, which was exactly when Gill wanted them all to make their way towards the ocean. But there was little to do in the meantime – it might be better just to go to bed early, to make sure that they were all rested so that they could cope with their adventures back in the ocean tomorrow morning. With a last look down at where Jacques was still industriously cleaning Gurgle, Gill swam to his skull, stared out of the eye-socket at the filthy tank, and then closed his eyes, hoping that sleep would come soon, so that he could start the day fresh and alert tomorrow.

Unfortunately, he did not feel tired, for he was too excited about the prospect of finally going back to the ocean, after all of this time; and so he could not make himself relax enough to be able to fall sleep. Sighing quietly to himself, opening his eyes once more, he stared out of the socket of the skull, only to see Sharkbait swim in front of it a moment later. Gill looked up at the boy, gave him a small smile, and muttered, "Hi Sharkbait."

"Um…hi…" Sharkbait began, then looked down, as though nervous or unsure about something.

Gill watched him carefully for a moment, wondering what was wrong, "You excited about going back home to the ocean tomorrow?" he asked, after staring up at the boy in silence for a long moment.

"Well, yes…" he said, but his voice trailed off.

"Worried about what Gurgle's been saying about this filthy place making you ill, are you?" Gill asked, watching him carefully, still trying to figure out what was bothering the boy, "I wouldn't worry about that," he said dismissively, "we won't be in here long enough to get sick, by this time tomorrow, you and I, we'll be back in the ocean where we both belong."

"That's just it," said Sharkbait nervously, "I mean, we'll be back in the ocean tomorrow. I'll be back with my Father – which is great," he added quickly, "I mean, I'm really grateful for all of what you have done to help me, but this is the last night that we will be here, and…" his voice trailed off again.

"Something I can help you with, Sharkbait?" Gill asked quietly.

"I, I'd like to sleep next to you, if that's all okay with you," the boy said quietly, awkwardly, "I mean, this might be the last chance that I get to be able to do that. Tomorrow night I'll be back with my Dad in the an-em-on-e, and I know you can't live in those, so um, if it's all okay with you I mean…" his voice trailed off once more.

Gill watched him carefully; the boy's still very young, he realised, still needs a parent. The younger ones can't be parents; they are little more than children themselves. I can't be a parent either, he realised, sighing inwardly - I've been trying to be, but the boy needs others of his own kind, needs other clownfish who understand the unique needs and requirements of their species. But I'm the closest thing to a parent that he has right now. I guess living in this muck can make a child feel vulnerable, feel the need to be close to a parent figure, feel the need for comfort. Gill gave Sharkbait a very small smile, and shuffled further inside the skull, "Eh, why not?" he said, "There's plenty of room in here."

Sharkbait smiled gratefully, and swum next to him. He settled down by Gill's side, and within a moment, they were both reminiscing about the ocean. They laughed about the silly jokes and games that they had played when they had lived in the ocean, talked about the wonders and the dangers of the deep, and discussed how the Tank Gang would find homes for themselves close to Sharkbait's anemone, once they were back in the vastness of the ocean where they belonged. It had been a long time – too long – since Gill had been able to talk so openly about the ocean to anyone. The younger ones had always seemed sceptical about Gill's tales of the ocean, and even Peach had never really understood about the wonders of Gill's ocean home, even though it was clear that she had tried, very hard, to appreciate why Gill missed the ocean so much, and longed to go back there. But she had been born in captivity, as had the others; it was not their fault, but they could never understand the longing that a captive fish, born in the ocean, had about returning back to the ocean once more. But Sharkbait did understand; he, also, had been born in the ocean. Even if it were not for Darla, even if this tank were completely safe, Gill knew that it could never really be home for either of them – their home was the ocean, and it was to the ocean that they needed to return.

Sharkbait yawned, "I love you, Dad," he muttered. Gill looked at him for a moment, but the boy was already drifting off to sleep. Had he thought that he was back in the ocean, back with his Dad? Or had he thought that Gill was his Dad - drifting in that strange, almost magical realm between being awake and being asleep, a state where nearly everything was possible? Gill watched him for a moment, then looked away quickly. They had to get him back to the ocean, back to his Father, back to the anemone where he could be safe once more…

Gill was swimming in the ocean. After the cramped confines of the tank, the freedom and the vastness of the ocean was a joy under his fins – and he had two fins again, both perfectly healthy. That did seem strange, but Gill decided not to worry about that; he was safe, he was whole; he was back in the ocean where he belonged, that was all that mattered. The Tank Gang were following him, and Sharkbait was leading the way, showing the rest of them his anemone home. As the little clownfish swam towards the anemone, another, older clownfish swam out; obviously his Dad. But this older clownfish was not welcoming of the newcomers, took his son under his fins, but indicated, in no uncertain terms, that the rest of them were not welcome here, in this part of the ocean, or anywhere near his son. Gill could sort of understand why Sharkbait's Father would not be welcoming of such a strange gang of fish, but he nevertheless wished that he could have convinced the older clownfish that they all meant no harm to him, to his son, or to his way of life. Although Sharkbait seemed to be upset by his Father's decision, he went along with it out of respect for his parent – the rest of them had to move elsewhere, away from Sharkbait's anemone.

And so they did, making their way across the vastness of the ocean. One by one, the creatures that had once been The Tank Gang met with other creatures of their own kind. They were understandably curious about these creatures; none of them – with the arguable exception of Deb, who saw her 'sister' every time she noticed her reflection – had seen members of their own kind for a very long time, so they were justifiably curious to find out more about these creatures. Gill watched as, finally, Peach was welcomed by a galaxy1 of other starfish, who surrounded her, wanting to take her back with them, to welcome her as one of their own. She turned around briefly, and looked back at Gill. He gave her a small, sad smile – it was her right to go with them, and that was clearly what she wanted – he could ignore his own sudden feelings of loneliness as she returned the sad smile; a smile of both gratitude for his understanding, and of farewell. Then she, too, was gone, taken by the ocean, as all of the others had been.

Gill swam on alone. He had been the Tank Gang's leader – he had never asked to be, had never really _wanted_ to be their leader, but they had decided, unanimously, that he should be their leader, and he had graciously accepted the responsibility. And now they were gone, off with members of their own kind. It was good and right in a way, that they no longer needed him to lead them, that they had become strong and independent enough to make their own way in the ocean, but it did hurt a little, the thought that he might never see any of them, ever again…

Where to go now? The ocean was vast in a way that the Tank Gang had never been really able to understand, but it somehow seemed suddenly smaller to Gill than it had done before he was captured and imprisoned in a tank. Perhaps he should try to locate William – assuming, of course, that the octopus was still alive. Or perhaps he should try and locate his family out here – his own parents were almost certainly dead after all of this time, but he had brothers and sisters…yet how could he be sure that they would be welcoming of him? He had been gone for so long; they were bound to have made lives for themselves, set up families, communities and the like, how could he be sure that they would not feel that he was simply intruding into their lives, just as Sharkbait's Dad had done? Well, there was nothing else to do but to find out, one way or the other, so Gill swum on…

As he did so, he felt a strange tingling sensation on his side. He opened his eyes, and then looked down, into the eyes of the frightened clownfish, who had been rubbing his scar. "I'm, I'm sorry," said Sharkbait, looking up at him, his eyes wide, "I-I just wanted to know what it felt like…" his voice trailed off.

Gill blinked a couple of times. A dream, then. A dream of being back in the ocean. His right side was as scarred as it had been since his first failed escape plan, and he was in a plastic skull, inside a tank, in Doctor Sherman's office in Sydney. Okay…the dream was fading now, but he was getting the worrying sensation that something was wrong. He gave Sharkbait a small smile, to show that he was not mad, "What does it feel like?" he asked.

"Bumpy," the boy replied.

Gill gave him a little laugh, "Is that right?" he asked. No other member of the Tank Gang had ever touched his scars, not even Peach. But Gill knew that he could never be angry at Sharkbait, and it was understandable that the boy would be curious about the only other fish he knew of who also had a bad right fin.

Gill could hear Peach yawning. He looked out of the eye-socket of the skull. It was clearly morning…and the tank was clear of muck.

"Morning," said Peach, then gave a little gasp, "It's morning, everyone!" she said, "Today's the day! The sun is shining, the tank is clean and we are getting out of -" she gasped, interrupting herself, "the tank is clean," she repeated, "the tank is clean!" she exclaimed.

Gill swum out of his skull and towards Peach, Sharkbait at his side. The water was as clean and as clear as it had been before Sharkbait had bravely broken the filter, and now that Gill had a chance to look around this clean and purified tank, the reason seemed obvious – a new, metallic filter, which seemed, without eyes or any form of expression whatsoever, to be mocking the Tank Gang, and especially Gill's latest attempt to escape from this tank.

"But how?" asked Deb, staring up at the unwelcome new addition to the aquarium.

"Boss must've installed it last night while we were sleepin'," said Gill. Why had he not insisted on placing a guard to make sure that something like this did not happen? But, even if there had been a guard, there would have been little that any of the Tank Gang could have done to stop Doctor Sherman from modifying his tank in any way that he wanted. Gill glared up at the new filter in frustration – it still seemed to be mocking him and mocking his escape plans.

"What're we gonna do?" asked Sharkbait.

I really don't know, Gill thought. Well, maybe there was something in the manual about it. Peach seemed to have had the same idea; she was clearly reading the manual on this new and – Gill had to admit – very effective filter.

Peach made a reply, but it was muffled, because she was so close to the side of the tank. "I can't hear you, Peach," Gill called up.

Peach started reading from the manual again, clearer this time, "The AquaScum 2003 is an all-purpose, self-cleaning maintenance free salt water purifier that is guaranteed to even extend the life of your aquarium fish…" she read.

Bloat inflated, and looked unusually concerned at what he was hearing, "Stop it!" he exclaimed.

Gill gave him a quick glance, before turning his attention back to Peach once more, as she continued to read the manual, "The AquaScum is programmed to scan your tank environment every five minutes"? she sounded uncertain, as though unsure of what that actually meant.

"Scan?" Gurgle asked; he sounded even more worried than usual, "What does that mean?" Obviously Peach was not the only one who was confused about what was written in that manual.

There was a strangely metallic hiss and a buzzing sound. Red light came out of the strange new filter, which seemed to scan all of the Tank Gang. Gurgle tried to cover himself from the invasive light. Gill could not help but feel slightly impressed at this new piece of technology, this worthy opponent that had scuppered his latest escape plan. He glared up at it, as the light stopped as quickly as it had commenced, and was replaced by a metallic voice, "Temperature: eighty-two degrees. PH balance: normal."

"Ooooh," said the Tank Gang, clearly as impressed by this strange new machine as Gill was.

"Nice," admitted Peach, in grudging respect of their most recent enemy.

But it was, predictably, Gurgle who got right to the heart of the issue. He swam up to this new, impressive, fancy filter, his fins balled into fists. He glared at it, defiant, frustration in his voice as he said: "Ooh…ah…curse you, AquaScum!"

And you complain that Bloat overacts, thought Gill, watching Gurgle momentarily. Then Gill turned his attention away from the infuriated gramma and towards Bloat, who was still inflated, and floating past him, as the pufferfish said: "That's it for the escape plan. It's ruined!"

Thanks for reminding me, thought Gill in frustration.

"Then what are we going to do about –" Sharbait began.

The doorbell suddenly rang. All of the Tank Gang knew what that meant. Gasping in concern and worry, there was a collective exclamation of: "Darla!"

Gill quickly pushed Sharkbait down into the nearest barrel. It was not much of a hiding place, but he did not have much time to plan. "Stay down, kid!" he instructed, then turned his attention back to the door, and the human who was even now entering the room…

It was just a boy, with a woman who was probably his mother – Gill did not recognise either of them, but they did not seem to pose an immediate danger to any member of the Tank Gang. Relief washed over him with the force of a tidal wave, until Gill reminded himself that they were not out of the tsunami yet – they had just been given a little more time to plan and prepare. Gill hoped that it would be enough.

"False alarm," Bloat reassured the rest of the Tank Gang.

"My nerves can't take much more of this," said Gurgle, as he sank to the bottom of the tank. Gill could perfectly well understand how he felt just now – if this carried on much longer they would all be nervous wrecks.

Meanwhile, Bloat had deflated. He was watching the humans absently, but it was clear that his mind was on the danger yet to come, "What're we gonna do when that brat gets here?" he asked.

"I'm thinkin', I'm thinkin'," Gill replied irritably. Would it hurt for one of the other members of the Tank Gang to come up with a plan for once? Why did they have to rely on him all of the time? Gill sighed inwardly. He was being unfair to them; they all looked up to him and respected him, even when they disagreed with him, and his frustration was more to do with his own inability to do anything to help Sharkbait, than it was to do with the rest of the Tank Gang…

"Aaah! Oh! Gill!" Sharkbait's sudden, panicked yell distracted Gill from his thoughts. Doctor Sherman had lowered a small fishing net into the tank, and was using this in order to scoop up the little clownfish.

Gill gasped as he saw what was happening, "Nemo!" he called, one of the rare times when he used the kid's real name.

"Help me! Help me!" the clownfish called.

"Hold on! I'm comin'!" Gill called back.

"Help me!" Sharkbait repeated.

Gill knew what to do. It was almost as if his dream had been a warning or an omen – the Tank Gang were tougher and stronger when they worked together, able to accomplish far more, far greater things than any member of the gang could accomplish alone. Gill suddenly swam forward into the fish net, and started to swim down. He gave Sharkbait a very small smile, encouraging the boy to follow him, to do what he did: "Swim down!" he instructed, "Come on, kid! Swim down! Come on!" he said, trying to sound more encouraging than frightened for the boy's safety.

A quick look at the rest of the Tank Gang was all that they needed – they would row and argue and complain about the most insignificant of details, but when one of them was in danger, then all of their petty bickering would be momentarily forgotten while they worked together to save one of their own – that was kin.

"Everybody jump in!" Gill instructed.

A moment later, Gill was joined by the rest of the Tank Gang – they were all swimming down together, their collective force far greater than any one of them could have managed alone.

"Swim down!" said Deb.

They continued to swim down.

"That's it!" said Gill encouragingly.

The force and the determination of the Tank Gang clearly surprised Doctor Sherman, as it was enough to make him let go of the net. Hah! No human could defeat the Tank Gang when they worked together!

"What the!?" Doctor Sherman asked.

"Yay!" came the collective call of triumph from the Tank Gang, relived that Sharkbait was freed from the net.

"Good work!" said Gill smiling at the Tank Gang; he had never felt prouder to be their leader than at that moment.

But their moment of triumph was short lived. Gill heard Sharkbait calling his name again, and turned around, only to see that the little clownfish was being imprisoned inside a plastic baggie. "Nemo!" Gill called out in shock and panic, as Doctor Sherman took the bag out of the tank, tied the top, and left it upon the counter by the tank.

"Sharkbait!" exclaimed Bloat.

"Roll, kid!" Gill instructed, trying to demonstrate by leaning to one side, "Lean!"

Unfortunately, Doctor Sherman noticed as Sharkbait followed Gill's instructions. It was a slow process, but Gill was convinced that Sharkbait would have been able to have reached the window, if the dentist had not stopped him, picked up the baggie, and placed it inside a tray. "Whoops. That would have been a nasty fall," said Doctor Sherman, in a way that was not unfriendly. But unfortunately there was no way that Sharkbait would be able to roll his way out of that tray.

Gill glared at Doctor Sherman momentarily, rolling his eyes in frustration and annoyance.

"Gill!" Sharkbait called; there was nothing else he could do now except call for help, "Don't let me go belly up!"

Gill stared back at the terrified clownfish, trying to think, trying to plan, trying to do anything that would help him. "Just calm down, Nemo," perhaps if he could get the little clownfish to calm down a bit, he might be able to think clearly, to figure out some way to get him out of this predicament.

"Don't let me go belly up!" the boy repeated.

Gill placed his good fin on the side of the tank, watching the clownfish while feeling helpless, useless. "You won't go belly up, I promise," he said, but even as he said those words, could not stop himself from realising that it was an empty, futile promise – there was nothing that he could do right now to help the little clownfish – except, perhaps, offer just a few comforting words, "You're gonna be okay," he added, hoping against hope that that was not a lie.

But luck was not on his side right now. A moment later the door slammed open, a lamp shattered, and a familiar, terrifying young human came through the open door.

All of the Tank Gang gasped at once, cowering within the tank, "Darla!" they exclaimed.

1 Fun trivia fact – a group of starfish is called a _galaxy_ or a _constellation_.


	25. Chapter 25

_Chapter 24 – Hero Fish_

 **Author's Note: Whew! This is the final main chapter of** _ **Guardian**_ **(I still have the Epilogue to do) – I hope you have enjoyed reading this half as much as I have enjoyed writing it. When I first started this story, I set myself a personal challenge of being able to write a novel length fanfiction without any intentionally 'bad' characters – no real villains, although some characters could cause harm without having malicious intentions – I would be grateful if you could let me know if I have succeeded. I would also like to take this moment to thank everyone who has reviewed this story, especially those that have reviewed several times – any and all comments are always welcome.** _ **Rennyangelee**_ **– glad I can help you with this being a role model for your own story (don't worry about the duplicate review, by the way), it's always useful to learn from other writers, but do try to find your own 'voice'.** _ **Angelwings2002**_ **– glad you liked the sweet moment between Gill and Nemo/Sharkbait in the last chapter – I think that it was generally in the spirit of the film. Now, on with the last main chapter – enjoy!**

Darla made her way over to the tank, and then started tapping on it with her finger. Gill scowled as he watched her, but at least Sharkbait was safe for the moment, and the tapping was merely annoying.

"Aaaah!" Bubbles complained, "Too loud! Too loud for me!"

Darla continued to tap on the tank, singing to herself, "Twinkle, twinkle little star…" as she tapped, loudly, upon where Peach was adhered to the side of the tank.

"Find a happy place, find a happy place, find a happy place!" Peach said, clearly trying to distract herself from Darla's oblivious torture, as her arms gradually came loose from the side of the tank.

After Gill had spent far too long putting up with this, Barbara finally called to Darla, telling her that her uncle was ready to see her now.

Doctor Sherman smiled at his niece, getting her to open her mouth to show him her teeth. "All right," he said, "let's see those pearly whites."

Darla pretended to attack her uncle with her mouth, "Raaa!" she said, "I'm a piranha. They're in the Amazon."

The dentist smiled at his little niece, clearly finding her childish ways amusing, "And a piranha's a fish," he told her, "just like your present."

Darla giggled and clapped upon hearing that. "I get a fishy! Fishy, fishy, fishy!" she practically sang.

Gill watched, helpless, as Doctor Sherman picked up the bag containing Sharkbait. The dentist then grimaced, as he looked at the bag containing the little clownfish.

The little clownfish that was belly-up inside the bag.

Time seemed to stand still. Gill stared at the bag, an unwelcome image of Chuckles, also belly-up within a practically identical bag, swimming unwanted across his imagination. After all they had done, all they had worked for – for nothing?! No, this had to be wrong, had to be a mistake, this could not be happening, could not be real…

"Oh no. Poor little guy," said Doctor Sherman sadly.

"He's dead," said Bloat, his voice full of despair.

"Sharkbait!" Gill exclaimed in anguish, hoping against hope that that would somehow, miraculously, make everything fine, make the little clownfish alive again. But it seemed clear that there was nothing more that he or anyone else could do to help Sharkbait; it was already too late.

The dentist shoved the bag behind his back, and gave Darla a nervous little laugh. "Must've left your present in the car, sweetie," he said, giving the nervous little laugh once more.

"Awwwww," was all Darla said in reply.

"I'll go and get it," the dentist assured her.

But Gill was not paying Darla much attention. Instead he was focusing on the little clownfish within the bag. He was sure, just for a moment, that Sharkbait had moved, ever so slightly. But no, Gill told himself; that was just what he wanted to have happened, indeed, he wanted it so much, that he must have simply imagined that the boy had stirred…

Sharkbait opened one eye, grinned cheerfully at the Tank Gang, and winked at them. Gill let out a breath that he didn't know until that moment he had been holding in – the boy was alive, and had merely tricked the dentist into believing that he was dead!

Gill gasped, "He's still alive!" he exclaimed.

"He's not dead!" said Peach, sounding as relieved as Gill felt at that moment.

"What's happening? Why is he playing dead?" asked Bloat.

Gill stared at the dentist, who was taking the bag containing Sharkbait towards the toilet. Yes! Gill knew what the little clownfish was planning; it was a simple plan, and simply brilliant: "He's gonna get flushed down the toilet! He's gonna get outta here!" he said.

"Yay!" exclaimed Deb.

"He's gonna get flushed!" Bloat said, watching the dentist as he carried the baggie.

"What a smart little guy!" added Gurgle.

But something was going wrong. The dentist had started to go the wrong way – not towards the toilet, but rather to the side of the room, towards a trash can. Doctor Sherman was going to throw Sharkbait into the rubbish! Not down the toilet! "Oh no, not the trash can!" Gill exclaimed.

"Nemo! No!" exclaimed Bubbles.

"Hey! Hey! I thound hib Dab!"

Gill whirled around upon hearing Nigel's muffled voice. It became clear, a moment later, why the pelican sounded so muffled – within his rather large beak were two fish, a clownfish that looked like an older version of Sharkbait, and a pretty blue regal tang. Hah! So the plan to use Nigel to escape from the tank might have worked, after all. But there were more urgent things to worry about right now.

"Where's Nemo!?" asked the older clownfish, "Where is he?!"

"Dentist! Dentist!" exclaimed Bloat, as all of the Tank Gang pointed furiously over to where Doctor Sherman was still about to throw the baggie containing Sharkbait into the trash.

"He's over there!" Gill exclaimed.

"What's a dentist!?" asked the clownfish inside Nigel's beak, "What is that!?" He gasped as he looked into the dentist's surgery, and then, with a look of determination, said: "Nigel, get in there!"

"I can't go in there!" the brown pelican protested, still sounding rather muffled due to the fish in his beak.

"Oh yes, you can!" the clownfish countered, then, to Gill's surprise, the clownfish yanked on Nigel's tongue, making it quite clear that he was determined to do whatever it took to get his son back – up to and including pulling the tongue of the pelican that was taking him to his little boy, "Charge!"

Then there was pandemonium, with a side order of chaos, and just a sprinkling of anarchy. Nigel had been reluctant to enter Doctor Sherman's surgery for a reason – pelicans did not like being in such confined spaces at the best of times, and this pelican had two fish inside his beak right now. Nigel was flapping around in panic, scaring Darla, who was screaming in alarm. But at least it provided the necessary distraction. Doctor Sherman, still holding the bag containing Sharkbait, was making his way over towards Darla. "What the -!?" the dentist asked – understandable given what was happening all around him, "Darla, sweetie! Look out!"

Doctor Sherman chased Nigel around the office. Darla screamed in panic, her legs going up and down in her chair as she pointed towards the brown pelican. For a moment, Gill saw the other humans, patients and parents, who had been waiting patiently to see Doctor Sherman; their expressions said it all – this is madness, what in the world is going on here?! Why? And how!? But Gill did not waste much time paying attention to them, instead focusing on the fracas between Nigel and Doctor Sherman.

Whether by accident or design, Nigel managed to slam into the dentist, thereby knocking the bag containing Sharkbait right out of his hand. The bag landed, intact, on the tray of dental instruments, and Doctor Sherman went over to his niece, trying to calm her down, while still trying to escort, none too gently, the pelican out of his surgery. "Hold still!" he instructed the struggling pelican, "Nobody's going to hurt you! Oof!" he added, as he tried to make sure that Nigel was kept away from his niece.

After the moment of pandemonium, there was a moment of absolute stillness. The clownfish within Nigel's beak had seen Sharkbait – had seen his son - had seen him belly-up within the baggie. He gasped, "Nemo," his voice quiet, but full of pain.

The blue tang also gasped when she saw the little clownfish in the bag, "Oh my goodness," she said quietly.

The moment of stillness was over as soon as it had begun. The dentist managed to grab Nigel with a triumphant call of "Gotcha! Keep down!"

As Nigel was escorted towards the window, the clownfish within his beak stared down at his son, "Nemo!" he said again.

A moment later, Nigel, along with his fish companions, was thrust towards the window.

It was only at that moment that Sharkbait stirred. Opening his eyes, and righting himself once more, he looked around in confusion tinged with fear, Daddy?" he asked.

"Out with 'ya! And stay out!" the dentist called after the pelican, who had enough sense to fly away.

Darla, meanwhile, and found the bag containing Sharkbait. She started to shake it. "Fishy?" she asked uncertainly, "Fishy! Wake up! Wake up!"

She was shaking the bag harder now. Chuckles had not survived such treatment. Gill thought that he should be panicking, watching her, yet he felt strangely calm. He knew what he should do – what he needed to do, and what he must not do. He must not think about the possible – probable, consequences of trying to save Sharkbait. William had encouraged Gill that, most times, he needed to think before acting, needed to plan, needed to consider the consequences of taking different courses of actions. But he had conceded that there were times when there simply was not the time to think, when actions had to be immediate; this was one of those times.

"Oh no!" said Deb, watching Darla and Sharkbait, worry in her eyes.

Gill knew that there was no time to waste, "Quick!" he instructed, "To the top of Mount Wannahockaloogie!"

Without waiting for the others, Gill inserted himself into the top of the volcano. The rest of the Tank Gang did not argue – not even Gurgle would dare to tell him how dangerous this plan was; there was simply no time to come up with another plan. And the Tank Gang knew what he was planning without Gill having to tell them – they might be crazy, but they were not stupid. Gill took a huge breath. Well, he could survive for two or three minutes outside of the tank – that would have to be enough time. With grim determination, Gill prepared himself to be launched out of the volcano to save Sharkbait.

Meanwhile, Darla was staring at the bag containing Sharkbait, and still shaking it. "Why are you sleeping!?" she asked the clownfish.

"Hurry!" said Peach, watching her anxiously, as she fell off of the side of the tank.

Gill turned his attention away from Peach and towards Bloat, who was inflated at the base of the volcano, "Bloat!" he instructed, "Ring of Fire!"

Deb, Gurgle and Bubbles aimed the volcano towards Darla, while Jacques walked swiftly on the knob at the base of the volcano, in order to build up pressure and release bubbles from its top.

Pressure equals force divided by area – Gill could remember William telling him that, what seemed like a lifetime ago. Well, the pressure inside the bubble volcano was increasing with every moment, and Gill was small enough to be able to exert pressure on Darla – but would it be enough to save Sharkbait?!

After only a few seconds, the pressure within the volcano had reached the required force to launch Gill through the air. After a moment of practically flying, he landed directly upon Darla's hair.

"Fishy - aaaaaaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaaaah!" Darla exclaimed, reaching up to her head, where Gill was still flapping.

Okay, I've managed to distract her from Sharkbait, now what am I supposed to do? Gill asked himself, as Darla dropped the baggie containing the little clownfish. A moment later, the bag burst, doubtlessly due to being pierced by some kind of dental instrument.

Doctor Sherman turned around when he heard Darla screaming. He stared at the scene of chaos that was his dental surgery. "What?!" he asked, "All the animals have gone mad!"

Darla screamed again, as Gill continued flapping in her hair, "Get it out!"

"Smack her in the head!" Gurgle instructed.

"Go, Gill! Go!" Bloat said encouragingly.

"Fish in my hair!" Darla exclaimed, and screamed once more.

Doctor Sherman made his way towards Darla, but knocked his head against a dental X-ray machine, and collapsed on to the floor. He seemed to be unconscious, but Gill was not sure – it was kind of hard to tell as he was still flapping around on Darla's head.

But it was clear that he would not be able to keep this up much longer. Sharkbait needed help, and Gill knew that neither of them could survive out of water for more than a few minutes. So Gill aimed for the dental tray, and managed to launch himself from Darla's head, landing not far away from Sharkbait.

He managed to grin at Sharkbait, although he was gasping for breath. He quickly looked down, and saw that there was some kind of dental mirror underneath Sharkbait. Hmm, pressure equals force divided by area…and the spit sink was not far away…

"Gill…" Sharkbait was staring at him, gratitude, admiration and hero worship in his eyes.

Gill was not sure how to respond - but perhaps it did not matter. The most important thing had always been freeing Sharkbait, and returning him to the ocean and his Dad where he belonged. All of the Tank Gang had understood that; their arguments had always been about just how they should go about this, never _if_ they should help him – it had never even occurred to any one of them that they should not devote their time and energy to freeing the little clownfish. And Gill, giving Sharbait a determined grin, thought that he could finally see a way of freeing him at last…

"Sharkbait," he said, still gasping for breath, "Tell your Dad…I said…hi," that seemed to cover everything that needed to be said. With that, Gill used the handle of the mirror to flip Sharkbait towards the spit sink. His aim was near enough perfect. The little clownfish sailed through the air, towards the sink, "Go get 'em," Gill added, as Sharkbait vanished down the drain.

Gill tried to relax, but that was very difficult, since he was still out of the water, and had been out of the water for a while now. And now that Sharkbait was safe – or at least beyond any help that the Tank Gang could provide - Gill was forced to notice the aching in his own gills, as they were protesting, ordering him to return to the blissful safety of salt water once more.

Fortunately, at that moment Doctor Sherman groggily stood up, rubbing his head. Gasping, he noticed Gill, and picked him up – not ungently, Gill noticed – and placed him back within the tank. Within a moment, the Tank Gang were surrounding him, smiling and grinning at him.

"He did it!" Bloat exclaimed, laughing to himself.

"Yay!" said Deb.

"I'm so happy!" added Bubbles.

But Gurgle still seemed concerned, as usual, "Is he gonna be okay, Gill?" he asked, anxiety in his clear blue eyes.

Gill did not want to lie to him. He knew that the ocean could be a dangerous place, and that even surviving the filter would be challenge enough for a small, disabled clownfish. On the other fin, Gill _had_ trained Sharkbait, at Gurgle's own insistence, and therefore had no doubt that some of the cunning and guile that Gill had developed over the years had been passed on to Sharkbait. That meant that the boy at least had a reasonable chance of surviving. Besides, there was nothing more that the Tank Gang could do for him for the moment – there was no point in making Gurgle more anxious than he already was. "Don't worry," he smiled at the gramma, "All drains lead to the ocean," he told him, trying to sound as reassuring as possible.

He turned to look at Darla. She was leaning on the side of the spit sink, looking into it. "Fishy!" she called. The drain bowl broke under her weight, and a moment later, water was being spurted into her face.

Gill turned back to the Tank Gang. They were all there, all safe, and Gill promised himself that he would never let any one of them be hurt, ever again. What was more, Gill thought he knew how he could deal with the new filter – it was pretty obvious that everything had a weakness, and, while he had been flapping around on Darla's hair, the filter's weakness had become obvious to him. All it would take would be a few pebbles, some plastic flowers and no small amount of patience, and Doctor Sherman would be throwing that filter away within a day…but he could worry about that later. For now, the Tank Gang were still congratulating him on successfully freeing Sharkbait, and Gill would allow himself a moment of pride in that great achievement.


	26. Chapter 26

_Epilogue – And Now to the Ocean_

 **Author's Notes: Well, this is it, the final part of** _ **Guardian.**_ **I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has read, and especially everyone who has reviewed, this story. Any and all comments are always appreciated. I hope that I have been respectful of Andrew Stanton's characters, and given a level of depth to the Tank Gang – particularly Gill - that was only hinted at in** _ **Finding Nemo.**_ **I hope you have all enjoyed reading this fic as much as I have enjoyed writing it. If you have enjoyed reading this fic, you might also like to read my other Finding Nemo fic,** _ **Finding Home.**_

"Come on, Peach!" Gill called, as he heard car horns honking. He had finally made it – he was back in the ocean – well, okay, technically on top of the ocean, inside a plastic baggie, but the ocean was right below him, which was close enough, and certainly closer than he had been to it in years. The Tank Gang were surrounding him, each one inside an individual baggie, as they were waiting for their final member, Peach, to join the rest of them in the harbour.

"Hurry!" called Deb.

"You can do it!" Gill called back encouragingly.

"Yeah, that's it! You can do it!" Bloat said.

"Just a little further," Gurgle added.

"That's the shortest red light I've ever seen!" commented Peach, from just above the rest of the Tank Gang.

"Come on, Peach," said Bloat.

With a triumphant exclamation, Peach at last made it, dropping down, in her baggie, joining the others. The Tank Gang were together, free at last, even if they were still trapped inside the baggies.

There was a general feeling of achievement, as the Tank Gang congratulated each other on finally making it to freedom. They laughed and smiled at one another, as Gill watched on. Breaking the AquaScum had taken time and patience, not to mention pebbles, fake flowers and a few pieces of miscellaneous plastic. Gill doubted that Doctor Sherman would ever be able to fix it. Still, he did feel a twinge of sympathy towards the dentist – despite everything, he had treated the Tank Gang well, and had never had any ill wish towards any of them – but harm could certainly be caused, even if someone had no malicious intent. Still, that was in the past now – literally as well as metaphorically behind them. The future awaited, out there – the ocean was in front of them all, just waiting to be explored, just waiting for the Tank Gang to go out and find a place for themselves in the wonderful, terrible, beautiful ocean that was a moorish idol's natural home. Of course, they were still in these baggies…the one small detail that Gill had overlooked in his meticulous planning of his most recent escape plan.

"Now what?" asked Bloat, staring out at the ocean from inside him own baggie.


End file.
